The dilapidated house in Camden, north London, was the backdrop for the absinthedrinking, drug-taking and scandalous affair between the French poets Rimbaud and Verlaine, who lived there in the 19th century.

The home is now to be sold along with two adjoining houses, and campaigners fear it may be redeveloped unless a sympathetic buyer is found.

Rock literati Dylan and Smith, both admirers of the poets, have been approached to give muscle to the efforts to preserve the property.

Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine . . . cited as inspirations for artists such as Doors frontman Jim Morrison and John Lennon, as well as Smith and Dylan . . . became lovers in the 1870s and made their base in Camden, writing some of their most famous works as they lodged on the top floor of what is now a tatty, grimecoated house.

Among those fighting to save the four-storey property are the novelist Julian Barnes, actor Simon Callow, poet laureate Andrew Motion and the playwright Christopher Hampton, who scripted a film about the pair's relationship, Total Eclipse, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and David Thewlis.

Dylan and Smith have acknowledged the inspiration of the poets in their work.

Dylan mentions their affair in his song 'You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go'.

In Smith's first single, 'Piss Factory', she describes the salvation she found in reading a stolen copy of Rimbaud's Illuminations while she worked on an assembly line. She has also given lectures on his poems and was last year honoured by the French culture ministry partly for her appreciation of Rimbaud's work.

The campaigners have approached the two rock stars as they try to secure a buyer willing to pay 1.8m for the three properties. The present owner, the Royal Veterinary College, has allowed them until the end of July before the homes go on to the open market for a higher price.