Smallhythe Place

Smallhythe Tenterden Kent TN30 7NG

From the outside, this is a quintessential English cottage, all wooden beams, leaning walls and crumbling plaster, with a rambling cottage garden, an orchard and a stream running through the grounds. It's an utterly charming vision – and once you add to that the fact that this was the home of unconventional Victorian stage actress Ellen Terry, filled with her effects and theatrical memorabilia, you have a quirky, fascinating day out.  Wandering through the crooked rooms, floorboards creaking underfoot and mullion windows letting in shafts of softly diffused sunlight, you can peruse cabinet upon cabinet of programmes, jewellery, costumes, posters and stage make up, photos, paintings, playbills and diaries, all relating to Terry's rich and rather bohemian world. Star of the show is the actress's notorious "beetle wing" dress, a shimmering green sheath, sparkling with real Jewel Beetle wings, that she wore when playing Lady Macbeth in 1888 – a performance that was, by all accounts, groundbreaking in its naturalism. A panel nearby will remind you where you may have seen this stunning robe before –  in John Singer Sargent's dramatic Pre-Raphaelite painting of 1889, portraying Terry with ghost-white face and red lips, thick auburn braids tumbling over her shoulders and pale arms raised in dramatic appeal.

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What Customers say about Cool Places

Everything I needed for a stay

I'm already looking forward to going again and would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the area. It definitely deserves a five star rating!

Nathan, Verified Customer

6 out of 5!!!!

This place was amazing… I could not recommend this place enough, I’ll be singing their praise for many years to come and we are going to book again soon.

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Great site that offers a really broad range of places to stay across the UK. Easy to navigate and book holidays.

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Such a great variety of properties

Found this website when looking to book a staycation for later in the year. Such a great variety of properties and the website is really easy to use. Already shared with my family and friends.

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Great, simple, straightforward

Great, simple and straightforward. I will definitely be using Cool Places again.

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