Place Name
William Blake (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827) poet, painter, printmaker and visionary. He is considered a seminal figure in the history of poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age, he is probably most-widely remembered for his poem And did those feet in ancient time… more widely known as Jerusalem. The Poetry Foundation says of him that he “worked to bring about a change both in the social order and in the minds of men”. He was born the third of seven children into a modest household at 28 Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) in Soho, and attended school until the age of 10, after which he was taught at home by his mother where he was encouraged to draw. After an apprenticeship as an engraver he enrolled for a time in the newly formed Royal Academy. It was during this time that he got swept up as an innocent bystander by the mob in what was to become known as the Gordon Riots. On August 18, 1872 he married Catherine Boucher. His works include Songs of Innocence and Experience, Europe, and America, the latter two reflecting the revolutionary times in which he lived. Blake was largely unappreciated in his own lifetime, although he himself believed his work was of great importance. Views of his work changed after his death and he has grown in stature and importance as an artist and influencer. He died at Fountain Court off the Strand (the property was demolished in the 1880s, when the Savoy Hotel was built). On the day of his death he worked relentlessly on his Dante series. Eventually, it is said, he ceased working and turned to his wife, who was in tears by his bedside. Beholding her, Blake is said to have cried: “Stay Kate! Keep just as you are – I will draw your portrait – for you have ever been an angel to me.” Having completed this portrait (now lost), Blake laid down his tools and began to sing hymns and verses, At six that evening, after promising his wife that he would be with her always, he died. This street is one of many that make up the so-called Poets Estate. Poets and playwrights were, and remain, a popular source of inspiration for road names. See also: Browning Close; Burns Close; Chaucer Road; Dryden Road; Keats Road; Milton Road; Shelley Drive; Tennyson Close; Wordsworth Road; and Wycliffe Close.
