Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Bindman sold a lifetime's collection of Romantic poetry and political history last week for a sum in the region of £640,000.


Mr Bindman sold the collection to the Wordsworth Trust, which received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund in order to make the purchase.



The high-profile civil rights solicitor said he had accepted much less than the market value for the books and pamphlets to ensure that the collection would stay intact and would be accessible to scholars and the public - himself included.



The collection, which includes poetry by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron and Keats, will go on display in the Lake District at Dove Cottage, Wordsworth's former home, next year.



Mr Bindman said: 'This is a means of preserving it in a way that will get the most benefit for the community.'