Philip Pullman backs Blake’s Cottage appeal

The writer of the fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, and the fictionalised biograhy of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, made ‘a generous contribution’ to the fund to acquire the building for the nation.

Rachel Searle, the founder of the Big Blake Project, said Mr Pullman had backed up his financial gift by highlighting the fundraising effort.

“It was Blake’s birthday on November 28,” she said.

“The highlights of the week were the opening of the Blake Exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum (in Oxford) and Philip Pullman promoting the campaign to buy Blake’s Cottage on Radio 4.

“The ambitious plan to buy the cottage has now raised £94,000.

“That is enough to exercise the option to buy the cottage for five per cent of the asking price.

“The rest of the monies will then need to be paid early in the new year.

“We are grateful for all the donations that are coming into this campaign from people wanting to make the dream happen.

“It has been very moving and we are utterly dependent on others feeling the same to raise enough to leverage a loan.”

The thatched cottage is for sale for £520,000. Rachel started the appeal to buy it as the only permanent memorial to the poet and mystic who wrote the words which later became Jerusalem when he lived there from 1800-03.

The campaign has also enlisted the support of Oscar-winning singer Katherine Ellis to record Jerusalem.

She sung vocals on the title track to multi-award winning film Gravity.

Donations for the appeal to: www.justgiving.com/bigblakeproject.