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Smallhythe Place, Kent

Henry Irving and Ellen Terry were the golden couple of the stage towards the end of the nineteenth century. They were driving in Kent when they noticed an old farmhouse, which Ellen announced would be the place where she would like to live and die. Ellen bought Smallhythe Place in 1899, returning there whenever her career allowed. She died there on 21st July 1928.

The critic E.V. Lucas, after a visit to Smallhythe Place, wrote that the house was very like Ellen Terry:

"There was something of wildness in her nature, something wilful and untamed, something almost fey, which assorts well with this brave old house, with these rich beams, these windows giving on to the green valley, this isolation among fields. I thought, when I was there the other day in spring, that it was very like her; like her in its grace, like her in its independence and Englishness, like her in the sunshine that irradiated it, and in the gaiety of its yellow wallflowers."

Ellen Terry was born into a theatrical family in 1847. Never attending school it was theatre that shaped her. Fortunately she was growing up at a time when theatre was finding new freedoms. Her parents had worked in a theatre business which had not really recovered from the suppression of theatre in the seventeenth century. Only two London theatres, Covant Garden and Theatre Royal Drury Lane, were licensed for serious plays. In the provinces theatrical laws were less strictly enforced, but most theatres made precarious livings by relying on burlesque and farce. The law restricting most theatres from putting on serious plays was repealed in 1843, and as Ellen grew up she was given ever larger parts. At sixteen she was starring in a French comedy at the Haymarket, and was becoming famous. Ellen Terry is then a symbol, and product, of the long awaited recovery of theatre in Britain. The famous actresses of today can follow their pedigree back, originally to the actresses who began working in theatres at the Restoration in 1660, and to Ellen Terry, star of the new theatre which came into being after 1843.

The house itself is early sixteenth century.

Smallhythe Place has been restored to its appearance when Ellen lived there. Many of her costumes and possessions are on display. The Barn Theatre stages talks and theatrical events. See the National Trust web site below for more details.

 

 

Address: Smallhythe Place, Smallhythe, Tenterden, Kent TN30 7NG

Opening Times: Smallhythe Place is open from the 27th February to 31st October, Saturday to Wednesday, 11am - 5pm.

Last admission 4.30pm. Also open Good Friday.

Directions: Follow the B2082 two miles south of Tenterden. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on Smallhythe Place.

Access: This is not an easy property for those with mobility problems. There is a ramp to the front door, but there are steps throughout the house. A photograph album tour is available. There are Braille and large print guides. There is an induction loop available for shows in the Barn Theatre.

Contact:

telephone: 01580 762334

e-mail: smallhytheplace@nationaltrust.org.uk

web site: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-smallhytheplace.htm

 

 

 

 

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