Introduction to "The Homes of Bertrand Russell"
Leonard Woolf wrote that the house in which one lives “is the framework of what one does” (Downhill All the Way: An Autobiography of the Years 1919 to 1939, [New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1967], p. 14). Russell had approximately 20 main residences in England, Wales, China and the United States. There were other places that he lived in briefly. He moved for a variety of different reasons: the death of his parents, marriages and marital breakdowns, teaching, and family responsibilities. Russell was married four times. His wives were responsible for finding, furnishing and making Russell’s various homes comfortable as well as hiring and supervising domestic staff. Russell never learned how to cook--he rarely even made tea. The ideal home for Russell always had a separate study where he could write, a view, spare rooms for guests, and a garden.
When I was working with Kenneth Blackwell in early January 2019 in the Russell Archives Reading Room, he pointed out a quotation to me from Russell’s appearance on the Brains Trust of 3 May 1948. “I’ve always infinitely preferred the country to the town … because the country is full of beauty, and full of delight, and in the country one can have time to think and time to work….” This caused me to review Russell’s homes with this in mind. What large cities did he live in? I could think of six: Paris, London, Beijing, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Apart from London, the time spent in the remaining cities was less than a year for each. Much of his life was spent in the countryside: Wales (three homes), the very rural Richmond Park, Oxfordshire, Cornwall and Sussex, and in the United States, California and Pennsylvania. He spent considerable time in small towns and villages. Finally, there is the anomaly of Brixton Prison (not regarded as a home for good reason) which provided neither beauty nor delight but gave Russell time to think and work. See The Brixton Letters for information on his prison living conditions.
The chapters that appear here are revised from what I published in the Bertrand Russell Society Bulletin from 2011 to 2019. New information continues to arrive in the Archives; other information surfaces from time to time in the Archives by serendipity. More photographs are included. Space constraints limited the number that could be published when the articles first appeared. Also, new photographs have been discovered. I would like to thank my three Bulletin editors: David Blitz, Michael Berumen and William Bruneau. I would also like to thank Kenneth Blackwell for his helpful comments.
While I was writing the Bulletin articles, Russell House was opened adjacent to the McMaster campus. I was given the opportunity to write a booklet, The Homes of Bertrand Russell, in 2018 (image below), which contained capsule descriptions of most of his homes taken from the Bulletin articles. In the booklet I used a drawing of what I thought was Little Datchet Farm; in fact it was not a depiction of this house. My thanks to Dan O’Leary who volunteered to travel to Pennsylvania to take photographs of the home, the Bell and Clapper, and the train trestle and meet with the owner. I also use two photographs taken by Russ Stetler’s wife, Tracy Thompson—the couple visited the home just before Dan. After the booklet was published I continued to write articles until the Bulletin series was complete.
My research was facilitated by the use of BRACERS. I was helped by members of the Archives staff: Beverly Bayzat, Karen Pavão, Gillian Dunks and Christopher Long. Myron Groover helped to publicize the articles. Bridget Whittle has worked with me throughout, providing helpful comments, uploading the articles and photographs, and making corrections when necessary. Debbie Lawlor of Digital Experience has provided excellent technical support when required.
Five years have passed since I first wrote this Introduction. This website launched with three chapters. New ones were added regularly. Now complete, there are nineteen chapters. I hope the series has been as enlightening to readers about how Russell lived as it was for me to research and write.
Sheila Turcon
2025
