He was no longer on speaking terms with his brotherand had been devastated by the death at the age ofseven of his elder daughter,Josephine.
Moving to Rosewood allowed the family to start anew life.George regarded Rosewood as a pureexample of a traditional country house of this partof England and did some of his most successfulwriting here.The house and its grounds became thefamily haven and their escape to privacy andquiet.The walls,and the mullioned windows were builtof the local sandstone,the tiles on the roofs and thebricks of the chimney stack were baked from local clay,and the wooden structures inside camefrom oak trees which grow around here.