In 1938, his younger brother A. W. Lawrence presented Clouds Hill to the National Trust. This small building remains much as Lawrence left it, and perhaps more than any other place with a Lawrence connection, it so evokes the memory of the man.
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Though Lawrence rejoined the RAF in 1925, he decided to buy the cottage and thereby keep his connection with Dorset. It remained a holiday place, for himself and his friends and family to whom he lent it.
Over the years he made a series of improvements so as to make a home for his retirement. His own regard for the cottage is summed up in a letter he wrote to Lady Nancy Astor on May 8 1935, ‘No: wild mares would not at present take me away from Clouds Hill. It is an earthly paradise and I am staying here until I feel qualified for it.’
Clouds Hill is open to visitors from March to November. See the National Trust website for opening times. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/clouds-hill
Society member and Clouds Hill volunteer Martin Gething has been researching the history of the cottage in the period before T E Lawrence started renting it in 1923. To learn more, visit our Clouds Hill History Page.