Izaak Walton (1593-1683)

Izaak Walton, best known today as the author of The Compleat Angler, was recognised in his own lifetime chiefly as a biographer. Ironically, little information is known about his own early life. The exact date of his birth is not certain but he was baptised in St. Mary's Church, Stafford on 21st September 1593.
He was the son of an alehouse keeper, Jervis (who died when Izaak was three), and Anne, who remarried another Stafford innkeeper.
Izaak probably attended the town's grammar school before taking up an apprenticeship with his brother-in-law, Thomas Grinsell, a wealthy London businessman. Walton completed his apprenticeship in 1617, and by 1624 he had his own business as a linen draper in Fleet street, London.
During the next 20 years he also held several public posts in his parish of St. Dunstan's-in-the-West and became a senior member of the Ironmongers Company. Membership of a city livery company was as much a social as an occupational distinction and did not imply that the person was actively engaged in that particular trade.

The Compleat Angler

During the dark days of civil war and religious persecution, the writing of biographies about Anglican clergymen was neither safe nor profitable. In May 1653 Izaak Walton published "The Compleat Angler, or The Contemplative Man's Recreation". This book about the innocuous pastime was well received and a second edition, revised and extended, appeared two years later.
It was re-issued a further three times in his lifetime. The final edition in 1676 included a supplement on fly-fishing written at Izaak's request by his very close friend Charles Cotton.
Walton often visited Cotton at his home at Beresford Hall on the Staffordshire-Derbyshire border and they spent many hours fishing the nearby River Dove.
Interest in The Compleat Angler was revived by Dr. Johnson in 1750 and the book has been reprinted constantly ever since. Its popularity grew during the nineteenth century and continues unabated to the present day.

Later Life

The Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 brought home Charles 11 and the followers who had shared his exile. Several of the surviving churchmen were rewarded by appointments as bishops. One such man was Dr. George Morley, probably Walton's closest friend. Morley made Izaak his steward, initially at Worcester Cathedral, and from 1662 at Winchester. It was there that Izaak Walton died, at the great age of 90, on the 15th December 1683.

The Cottage

Walton had become a relatively rich man. His properties included the small Halfhead Farm at Shallowford which he had purchased in 1655. This was given in his will to his native town of Stafford.
The annual rent of £21.00 was to be used for charitable purposes including the purchase of coal for poor people "in the last week of January or in the first week in February... the hardest and most pinching times for them".
The trustees of the charity administered the farm until it was sold in 1920. The cottage and its garden were then purchased by a local group, The Izaak Walton Cottage Trust, who restored the dilapidated building and opened it as a museum of its famous owner in 1924.
Having survived serious thatch fires in 1927 and 1938, the Cottage still attracts visitors from all over the world. They are drawn to the spot by their appreciation of Walton and their love of his immortal book.
Although Halfhead Farm was never Izaak Walton's permanent home, the museum shows a typical late-17th century domestic interior such as he would have known on his visits.
The cottage also houses an extensive angling museum, and the grounds have 17th century herb and rose gardens and a picnic area.

Angling Museum

Both keen anglers and those who have not tried this pastime before enjoy the variety of fishing collections on display.
The range of materials used and the quality of the craftsmanship make this exhibition an important part of any visit.

The Reading Room contains a small angling library including the very first edition of The Compleat Angler. Visitors can also enjoy a video about Izaak Walton and his cottage.

The Cottage Garden

The garden is a blaze of colour throughout the summer months, displaying a delightful collection of old-fashioned roses, shrubs and herbaceous beds. They would have been a familiar sight in Izaak Walton's time.
There is an extensive herb garden enclosed by a sweetly scented lavender hedge.
Visitors can identify the herbs and discover their traditional uses as food flavourings, medicines and cosmetics.

Programme of Events

The cottage hosts a diverse programme of events ranging from historical re-enactments to engine rallies and teddy bears' picnics.

For further details please contact
Izaak Walton's Cottage
Worston Lane, Shallowford, Near Stone, Stafford ST15 0PA.
Telephone 01785 760278 (Apr-Oct). 01785 619619 (Nov-Mar)

Stafford Tourist Information Centre
Market Street, Stafford.
(Open Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm)
Telephone 01785 619619
E-mail: tic@staffordbc.gov.uk
Web site: www.staffordbc.gov.uk