Post by Dave on Sept 9, 2018 14:14:43 GMT
Greenway House Sunday 9th September 2018
Many famous people have been associated with Torbay, but not many were actually born here, but two who were are the famous comedian Peter Cooke and the Queen Of Crime writer Agatha Christie. Most of us grew up watching Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple solve the latest murder and to think in the beginning she was initially an unsuccessful writer with six rejections to have her work put into print.
The story of her life is a very interesting read well worth checking out, there is far to much information to put in this post and I will just concentrate of her home Greenway House.
In the late 16th century a Tudor mansion called Greenway Court was built by the Gilbert family. Greenway was the birthplace of Humphrey Gilbert. His half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh also lived there. The present Georgian house was probably built in the late 18th century by Roope Harris Roope and extended by subsequent owners. The gardens may have been remodelled by landscape gardener Humphry Repton.
Greenway was bought by Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan in 1938. The house was occupied by Christie and her husband until their deaths in 1976 and 1978 respectively, and featured, under various guises, in several of Christie's novels. Christie's daughter Rosalind Hicks and her husband Anthony lived in the house from 1968, until Rosalind's death in 2004.The Greenway Estate was acquired by the National Trust in 2000.
When I was a much younger man I delivered the daily pinta to Greenway House and saw Rosalind Hicks on a number of occasions, but I never got to see inside the house and today I was going to put that right.
I booked my parking space over two weeks ago and have been looking forward to today so much, as not only did I want to learn more about Agatha Christie, but I was also looking forward to trying to get some good photos of the house and gardens etc.
Agatha Christie frequently used places familiar to her as settings for her plots. Greenway Estate and its surroundings in their entirety or in parts are described in the following novels.
• The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
The character Sir Carmichael Clarke, a wealthy man from Churston, is one of three victims to have a copy of the A.B.C. Railway Guide left by his body. Churston is two miles from Greenway Estate and the station before Greenway Halt on the steam railway line. Within the plot, the 'C' of 'A.B.C.' refers to Churston as well as the character's name.
• Five Little Pigs (1942)
The main house, the foot path leading from the main house to the battery overlooking the river Dart and the battery itself (where the murder occurs) are described in detail since the movements of the novel's protagonist at these locations are integral to the plot and the denouement of the murderer.
• Towards Zero (1944)
The location of the estate opposite the village of Dittisham, divided from each other by the river Dart, plays an important part for the alibi and a nightly swim of one of the suspects.
• Dead Man's Folly (1956)
The boat house of Greenway Estate is described as the spot where the first victim is discovered, and the nearby ferry landing serves as the place where the second real murder victim is dragged into the water for death by drowning. Other places described are the greenhouse and the tennis court, where Mrs. Oliver placed real clues and red herrings for the "murder hunt". The lodge of Greenway Estate serves as the home of Amy Folliat, the former owner of Nasse House.
ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot episode "Dead Man's Folly" was filmed there.
It was only a ten minute drive from my home to Greenway House and once I turned into the driveway I was met by a man who checked my car park booking and directed me to the parking area. It takes a few minutes to walk from there to the house after first passing through the outside seating area for the café.
Once inside the house we were greeted by a lady who handed us a guide to use around the house. She started a talk that I feared would be much like the one we recently endured at our recent visit to Ugbrooke House, but thankfully it only lasted a short while. Inside the house it is very 50’s and it you just feel the family has just popped out for a walk around the garden. It is not spectacular in anyway and it does not take that long to see what is on offer, but it is full of interest.
I had read the walk to the boathouse was a bit hard going, but we found it easy enough, but the walk from there up to the top garden area is most certainly more leggy but worth the effort.
As it was national heritage day it was free entry today, after visiting some of the grander National Trust properties, I am not sure I would have found Greenway House value for money if we have had to pay today. As always the food and drinks on offer were well overpriced which always disappointments me due to the normal entry charges.
I was more pleased after having to work yet another six days this week, today was really nice weather wise and I am glad we made the effort to go out and visit Greenway House. From the front of the house you get a good view of The Anchor Stone' or 'Scold Stone' as some people call it in the middle of the River Dart.
Legend has it that the unfaithful wives of the Dittisham village men were tied to this stone at low tide and left there as a 'punishment for their sins, how things have changed
