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)
TypeHouse
LocationLydbrook, Gloucestershire
Coordinates51°50′32″N 2°35′05″W / 51.8422°N 2.5847°W / 51.8422; -2.5847
Built16th century, with extension of 1718
Architectural style(s)Vernacular
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameSarah Siddons' House (the Old House)
Designated12 December 1953
Reference no.1299249
Sarah Siddons' House is located in Gloucestershire
Sarah Siddons' House
Location of Sarah Siddons' House (the Old House) in Gloucestershire

History and description

edit

The 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
  1. ^ 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
  1. ^ Phelps 2008, p. ?.
  2. ^ "Sarah Siddons (1755-1831)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Sarah Siddons' House". Forest of Dean Local History Society. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Sarah Siddons". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Plaque nominee - Sarah Siddons". Foresters' Forest. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Sarah Siddons lost plaque". London Remembers. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b Verey & Brooks 2002, p. 578.
  8. ^ Historic England. "Sarah Siddons' House (Grade II*) (1299249)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 December 2022.

Sources

edit
edit