John Donne's Summerhouse

The Sun Rising by John Donne


Busy old fool, unruly sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows and through curtains, call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late schoolboys and sour 'prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the King will ride


Donne is chastising the sun for peeping through the curtains, rousing him and his lover as they lie in bed together of a morning. Could this building on the side of the River Wey navigations have inspired him?  The blue plaque on the side of the Elizabethan summerhouse notes that he lived here 1600-1604, though it is more likely he lived in the "big house", Pyrford Place, nearby.

I had extended my walk along the River Wey navigations from Newark, with its ruined priory and lock gates, to Walsham Gates, with weir and lock (extras), in order to see this landmark and was not disappointed.