Sarah Siddons' House, also called the Old House, is a cottage in the village of Lydbrook, Gloucestershire, England. A Grade II* listed building, the cottage was reputedly the childhood home of the actor Sarah Siddons.
| Sarah Siddons' House (the Old House) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | House |
| Location | Lydbrook, Gloucestershire |
| Coordinates | 51°50′32″N 2°35′05″W / 51.8422°N 2.5847°W |
| Built | 16th century, with extension of 1718 |
| Architectural style(s) | Vernacular |
| Governing body | Privately owned |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Sarah Siddons' House (the Old House) |
| Designated | 12 December 1953 |
| Reference no. | 1299249 |
  Location of Sarah Siddons' House (the Old House) in Gloucestershire | |
History and description
editThe village of Lydbrook stands in the Wye Valley, on the edge of the Forest of Dean. In the mid-18th century, the village was reputedly the home of Roger Kemble, an actor-manager and patriarch of the Kemble family.[1] His most famous child, Sarah was born at Brecon in 1755, while her father's company, the Warwickshire Company of Comedians was on tour in Wales.[2] In the 19th century, the tradition developed that Sarah was bought up in the cottage at Lydbrook, where Roger Kemble was known to have owned property.[3] Siddons went on to become "the country's finest tragic actress", dying in London in 1831.[4][a]
The cottage dates from the 16th century. Alan Brooks, in the revised 2002 Gloucestershire volume of Pevsner's Buildings of England series, describes it as a "good timber-framed house".[7] There is an extension to the side dated 1718.[7] The timber frame is infilled with brick nogging to the front. The cottage is a Grade II* listed building.[8]
Notes
edit- ^ Siddons is not commemorated at the cottage, although a campaign for a memorial plaque is ongoing.[5] Her London home at 27 Upper Baker Street did bear a Blue plaque, the first awarded to memorialise a woman. The house was demolished in 1905, and the plaque is now in storage at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[6]
References
edit- ^ Phelps 2008, p. ?.
- ^ "Sarah Siddons (1755-1831)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Sarah Siddons' House". Forest of Dean Local History Society. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Sarah Siddons". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Plaque nominee - Sarah Siddons". Foresters' Forest. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Sarah Siddons lost plaque". London Remembers. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ a b Verey & Brooks 2002, p. 578.
- ^ Historic England. "Sarah Siddons' House (Grade II*) (1299249)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
Sources
edit- Phelps, Humphrey (2008). The Forest of Dean. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-445-62579-9.
- Verey, David; Brooks, Alan (2002) [1970]. Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and the Forest of Dean. The Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09733-7. OCLC 249275468.