Smallhythe Place

[poliphilo]

Smallhythe Place was originally a Tudor shipwright's house, later the home of the actress Ellen Terry- and is now a National Trust property, housing Terry's collection of theatrical memorabilia. The house and gardens are beautiful and the collection ranges from the snuffbox from which Joseph Grimaldi (Joey the clown) took a pinch of snuff just before he died to the green, beetlewing dress which Terry wore to play Lady Macbeth. The dress looks considerably more spectacular in Sargent's famous portrait than it does in real life.







This final picture shows the bottom of the garden with St John the Baptist's church- which is roughly contemporary with the house- behind.

Following on from our visit I've been reading Terry's Autobiography- The Story of my Life- which is full of lively theatrical anecdotes and good advice to actors and utterly lacking in point-scoring and malice.

Comments

[cmcmck]

A stunning building!

[poliphilo]

Are beautiful inside too- with floors that slant and roll every-which-a-way.

[tagryn]

Love the composition on the church photo.