Greenway Estate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Greenway House |
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| Type | House |
| Location | Galmpton, Devon |
| Built | c. 1780 |
| Architectural style(s) | Georgian |
| Governing body | National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name: Greenway House | |
| Designated | 21 May 1985 |
| Reference no. | 1108548 |
| Official name: Greenway | |
| Type | Grade II |
| Designated | 3 March 2004 |
| Reference no. | 1001686 |
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Greenway, also known as Greenway House, is a beautiful estate located right by the River Dart in Devon, England. This special place was once the home of the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie. Today, it is looked after by the National Trust, so everyone can visit and enjoy it.
You can even get to Greenway by a fun steam train! Trains from Paignton and Kingswear stop at Greenway Halt station, making your visit an adventure from the start.
Contents
Welcome to Greenway House!
A Look Back in Time
Early Days and Big Changes
Greenway sits on the eastern side of the tidal River Dart. It faces the village of Dittisham across the water. The estate is about two miles from Galmpton, the closest village. It is also three miles north of Dartmouth. An old book about Devon once said Greenway was "very pleasantly and commodiously situated." This means it was a lovely and convenient spot with great views of boats on the river.
Greenway was first mentioned in 1493 as "Greynway." It was known as a crossing point of the Dart River to Dittisham. In the late 1500s, a Tudor mansion called Greenway Court was built. It was built by Otto and Katherine Gilbert. They were part of a famous seafaring family from Devon. One of their ships was even called The Hope of Greenway. They probably kept their ships docked right in the river nearby.
The Gilberts had three sons, all born at Greenway. In 1583, one son, Sir Humphrey, claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth I. His brother, Sir John, lived at Greenway. Their half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, also spent time at the house. In 1588, John was in charge of 160 prisoners of war from the Spanish Armada. He made them work on the estate, helping to flatten the grounds.
We don't know much about the original Tudor building. But because the family was so important, it was likely very grand. If you look closely at the current house's hallway, you can find signs of a Tudor courtyard underneath. You can also see parts of the old Tudor boat ramp at low tide.
Around 1700, the Gilberts moved their main home to Compton Castle. They sold Greenway to Thomas Martyn. Over the next 90 years, the house was passed down through the Roope family. Eventually, it went to a distant relative named Roope Harris. He agreed to change his name to Roope. Roope Harris Roope, as he was then known, built the house we see today in the Georgian style. He sold Greenway in 1791 for over £9,000. Roope went bankrupt in 1800, possibly because he spent so much money rebuilding Greenway.
The Elton family bought Greenway next. They worked on the garden, with some help from the famous landscape gardener Humphry Repton. At some point, the old Tudor house was completely taken down. It might have been Roope or Edward Elton who did this. Edward Elton's son, James, took over the house in 1811. He made the house bigger by adding two wings for a dining room and drawing room. He also paid for a new road from Galmpton to the Greenway ferry. This changed how people got to the estate.
When James Elton sold the estate in 1832, it looked very different. It had a large kitchen garden, a swimming pool, a boat house, and newly designed gardens. The estate was bought by Sir Thomas Dinsdale, but he only owned it for a short time. It was soon sold for £18,000 to Colonel Edward Carlyon. His family owned Tregrehan House in Cornwall. The Carlyons didn't change the inside of the house much. But they probably added a rockery (a garden feature with rocks) to the slope on the east side of the house.
Colonel Carlyon inherited Tregrehan House in 1842 and moved there the next year. Greenway was then rented out to different people. It was sold twice quickly, finally to Richard Harvey and his wife Susannah. Richard Harvey was a very rich man from the copper and tin mining industry in Cornwall. The Harveys made many improvements to the estate. They fixed the stables and lodge house, added two new greenhouses, and redecorated the inside. They also helped improve much of Galmpton village, building the school and the Manor Inn. Richard Harvey even became the "Lord of the Manor" of Galmpton.
Richard Harvey died in 1870, and his wife in 1882. They had no children, so the estate was sold for £44,000 to Thomas Bedford Bolitho. Bolitho was a politician and businessman. He added a "Cornish influence" to the gardens. He brought in plants like camellias, magnolias, rhododendrons, and laurels. In 1892, he built a new east wing on the house. This wing had a billiard room, a study, and bedrooms. This part was later taken down in 1938.
Bolitho died in 1919. The house then went to his daughter Mary and her husband, Charles Williams. Their family owned Caerhays Castle in Cornwall. Together, Mary and Charles added many new kinds of plants from nurseries in Cornwall. In 1937, they moved back to Cornwall. They sold Greenway to Alfred Goodson. He then divided the estate and sold off parts of it the next year. The house, with about 36 acres of land, was sold for £6,000.
Agatha Christie's Dream Home
In 1938, the famous writer Agatha Christie and her husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, were looking for a new home. They didn't like their house in nearby Torquay as much anymore. The town had changed, and new buildings blocked their sea view. As they looked around south Devon, Christie saw Greenway was for sale. She had seen the property when she was younger and always thought it was "the most perfect" house on the Dart River. In her autobiography, she wrote:
One day we saw that a house was up for sale that I had known when I was young ... So we went over to Greenway, and very beautiful the house and grounds were. A white Georgian house of about 1780 or 90, with woods sweeping down to the Dart below, and a lot of fine shrubs and trees – the ideal house, a dream house.
Agatha Christie and Max Mallowan lived in the house until they passed away in 1976 and 1978. Greenway also appeared in many of Christie's mystery novels, sometimes disguised as other places. 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 bought by the National Trust in 2000. On May 21, 1985, Greenway House was given a special status as a Grade II* listed building. This means it's a very important historic building. The Pevsner guide for Devon describes it as "tall, late-Georgian, stuccoed." This means it's a tall house from the late Georgian period with a special plaster finish. The gardens and parkland are also listed as Grade II in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Today, the house and gardens are open for everyone to visit. There's also a Barn Gallery that shows art by local artists. The large gardens next to the river have many plants from the southern hemisphere.
Greenway in Agatha Christie's Books
Agatha Christie often used places she knew well as settings for her mystery stories. Greenway Estate and its surroundings, either in full or in parts, are described in these novels:
- The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
In this book, a rich character named Sir Carmichael Clarke is one of three victims. A copy of the A.B.C. Railway Guide is left by his body. Churston is a village two miles from Greenway Estate. It's the train station before Greenway Halt on the steam railway line. In the story, the 'C' in 'A.B.C.' refers to Churston and the character's name.
- Five Little Pigs (1942)
The main house, the path from the house to the battery (a small fort) overlooking the River Dart, and the battery itself are described in great detail. This is because the main character's movements in these places are very important to the story and how the murderer is caught.
- Towards Zero (1944)
The location of the estate, across the River Dart from the village of Dittisham, is important. It helps one of the suspects create an alibi (a reason why they couldn't have committed the crime) and explains a secret night swim.
- Dead Man's Folly (1956)
The boat house at Greenway Estate is where the first victim is found. The nearby ferry landing is where another victim is pulled into the water and drowned. Other places described are the greenhouse and the tennis court. Here, the character Mrs. Oliver sets up real clues and "red herrings" (false clues to mislead people) for a "murder hunt" game. The lodge at Greenway Estate is the home of Amy Folliat, who used to own Nasse House in the story.
Greenway's house and gardens are also used in Agatha Christie's short story 'The Shadow on the Glass'. This story is in the collection The Mysterious Mr Quin, first published in 1930. This was eight years before she even bought the estate!
