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Secondary sourcePainting

The birthplace cottage of John Locke at Wrington

An etching of the stone cottage at Wrington, Somerset, where John Locke was born.

This etching depicts the cottage where Locke was born, marking the place central to his early life.

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Black and white etching of a two-storey stone cottage with a slate roof, two chimneys, mullioned windows, and a central porch with steps, set among trees and a stone wall. Caption below reads: The birth place of John Locke at Wrington Somersetshire.
The cottage in Wrington, where John Locke was born. Etching. Wellcome Collection, United Kingdom.

About this source

What it is

This etching shows a two-storey stone cottage with a slate roof, chimneys, and mullioned windows, identified as the birthplace of John Locke at Wrington in Somerset, England. It is held by the Wellcome Collection.

Why it matters

Birthplace images like this were often made to commemorate famous historical figures, marking the ordinary places where extraordinary lives began. It shows how Locke's origins were remembered and valued by later generations who sought to connect his ideas to a specific place.

Look closer

  • Why might someone make an etching of the house where a philosopher was born, rather than of his writings?
  • What does the modest cottage suggest about Locke's family background?
  • What is missing from this image that might help you understand Locke's life, such as the people who lived there?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Locke on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Two Treatises of Government

John Locke · 1689 (dated 1690)

Title page of the 1690 first edition of An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. Large capitals read 'AN ESSAY CONCERNING Humane Understanding. In Four Books.' A Latin epigraph from Cicero follows, then a printer's ornament and the imprint 'LONDON: Printed for Tho. Basset, and sold by Edw. Mory at the Sign of the Three Bibles in St. Paul's Church-Yard. MDCXC.'Book

Primary source

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

John Locke · 1689 (dated 1690)

Sepia-toned mezzotint portrait of a man with long wavy hair, wearing a loose coat and open collar, turning slightly to his left within an oval frame of foliage. A cartouche at the bottom reads 'John Locke Esq.' with inscriptions in the lower corners.Painting

Secondary source

John Locke, Mezzotint after Godfrey Kneller

Godfrey Kneller

Title page of A Letter Concerning Toleration. Large capitals read 'A LETTER', then 'CONCERNING', then 'Toleration: Humbly Submitted, &c.' Below: 'LICENSED, October 3, 1689', then 'LONDON, Printed for Awnsham Churchill, at the Black Swan at Amen-Corner. 1689.' Faint reprint copyright text in background.Letter

Primary source

A Letter Concerning Toleration

John Locke · written 1685-1686, published 1689

Engraved oval portrait of a man with long wavy hair, wearing a loose dark gown over a white collared shirt, set in an ornate oval frame atop a pedestal bearing a coat of arms. Inscription below reads 'Effigies Iohannis Locke' with a Latin line beneath, plus artist credits 'G. Kneller Equ. pinxit 1697' and 'Geo. Vertue Sculp. 1722'.Painting

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Portrait of John Locke, frontispiece to Works

George Vertue, after Sir Godfrey Kneller · 1722

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