 Smallhythe Place
A magnificent close-studded building dating from the early 16th century,
Smallhythe Place is best remembered as the last home of Dame Ellen Terry.
Famously associated with Henry Irving and the Lyceum Theatre, this great
Shakespearian actress purchased the old Kentish farmhouse in 1899.
The early history of Smallhythe Place is somewhat vague but it is believed to have
been built shortly after 1514, the year that a huge fire swept through
Smallhythe destroying much of the village. During this period there was a
thriving shipyard industry and the new building served as the Port House,
possibly occupied by the harbour master. Reflecting the changing conditions,
as maritime activities diminished and land was reclaimed for agricultural
use, the house became known locally as The Farm.
Despite several structural
alterations over the years, the core of the Tudor house is essentially
unchanged. Smallhythe Place is a superb example of a high-quality house
of the period. Externally it represents a substantial rectangular building,
the upper storey overhanging the whole of the front elevation, and with
a red-tiled pitched roof and homely brick chimney stack. Inside, the
main room on the ground floor is the huge heavily beamed former farmhouse
kitchen. When Ellen Terry lived here she preferred to use this spacious
area with a large open fireplace as a dining room. Today it resembles
a cosy memorial room, where numerous portraits and treasures of past
performers are displayed. In one of the rooms upstairs, a collection
of some of the lavish costumes worn by Ellen Terry during her acting
career are exhibited, and in another her wonderful times at The Lyceum
are remembered. The simplicity of her bedroom, shows a more private
and sentimental side to the woman, wife and mother.
This delightful country house holds an appeal to satisfy most visitors. Whether
it be a fascination for the lifestyle of a famous person, or a morbid
curiosity to see the place where Dame Ellen Terry died in 1928, or perhaps
just to enjoy the fabulous architecture of a bygone era. |
