Godinton House and Smallhythe Place – June 2022

We leave APMH at 9.15 am and go first to Godinton House where there will be coffee and biscuits on arrival. Afterwards, we have a tour of the house.

Set in extensive parkland, Godinton is a beautiful Jacobean manor with later additions in keeping with the original building. The guided tour will explain the history of the house and the families who shaped it, as well as highlighting pieces from its fine collection of furniture, paintings, porcelain, and curios. Outdoors there are formal gardens and a large walled garden to explore.

After a ploughman’s lunch at Godinton (included), we go on to Smallhythe Place. Now in the care of the National Trust, this Tudor house was for many years the home of one of the most famous actresses of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Ellen Terry. It contains a great deal of interesting memorabilia from her career, including a replica of the beetle-wing dress that she wore in her celebrated performance as Lady Macbeth. There will be a short talk about her life, held in the Barn Theatre. Tours of the house are free flow but there are knowledgeable guides in the rooms to bring its story to life. The gardens are also charming. Please be aware that there are some grassy banks that may be slippery if wet.

Currently the tearoom at Smallhythe is open and provided there is no change, tea can be purchased at your own expense before we leave for home at approximately 4.15.

Cost – NT members £52, non-members pay an additional entrance fee at Smallhythe Place