Final Years

In 1948 Arthur and Evgenia moved to Lowick Hall, a large house in the Crake valley, but its upkeep proved too much for them, and in 1950 they moved to a flat in Fulham, London, where they lived quietly for 13 years. However, they still took regular holidays in the Lake District, at Hilltop Cottage, Haverthwaite, leading to a decision in 1963 to buy that property and move north. This was to be their last move, as in October 1965 Arthur Ransome became seriously ill and was moved to Cheadle Royal Hospital, Manchester, where he died on 3rd June 1967, aged 83. His wife Evgenia died eight years later in 1975, and both Arthur and Evgenia are buried in Rusland Churchyard.

During his life Arthur Ransome also wrote many short stories and two uncompleted works, The River Comes First and Coots in the North. These have now been published. The twelve ‘Swallows and Amazons’ books have been published world-wide, in hard-back and paper-back format, and in many languages, and they have never been out of print. They are regarded as classics of children’s literature.