Greenway Estate - Agatha Christie House

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The Agatha Christie Greenway House in Devon used to be the summer house of the famous crime novelist Agatha Christie (1890-1976) and the place she called “the loveliest place in the world!”

It is a historic Georgian house that resides by the River Dart, surrounded by beautiful and romantic gardens. Christie purchased it with her second husband, Max Mallowan, as a holiday home in 1938, and the family had spent many of their summers and holidays there. Here she wrote several of her novels and got the inspiration for four crime fiction novels – The ABC Murders (1936), Five Little Pigs (1942), Towards Zero (1944), and Dead Man’s Folly (1956). The latter was adapted into a movie filmed in Greenway and its boathouse (where the murder scene occurred).

Christie selected all the items in the house, including the furniture, decorations, sentimental items she brought from her childhood home, and unique items from her travels worldwide and her husband’s Middle Eastern excavations.

In 2000, the family gifted the Greenway estate to the National Trust. Soon after, the gardens got opened to the public without access to the house since her daughter and son-in-law, Rosalind and Anthony Hicks, occupied it. When they passed away in 2005, Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, gifted the house and its contents to the National Trust. After a massive restoration project, Greenway House was opened to the public in February 2009.

The house got organized as it was in 1950, presenting personal items, art collections, books, photographs, and portraits in the different rooms, including the Morning Room, the Drawing Room, the Kitchens, and the library. It allows the visitors to get a pick into the author’s life and her family’s as they explore the house and the feeling they are about to enter at any time.

Also on Greenway is a second-hand book shop, a gift shop with lots of themed souvenirs, and the Greenway House tea rooms.

Do not miss strolling the gardens, the view at the battery point, and the visit to the famous boathouse.

Among the annual special events held in Greenway are the Greenway Literary Festival in June, the International Agatha Christie Festival on Christie’s birthday on September 15th, and the Autumn Tea Festival.

13 km north of Greenway lays Torquay, a beautiful town on the English Riviera and the hometown of Agatha Christie. A self-guided walking tour along Torquay’s seafront follows many of Christie’s landmarks and memories as part of the Agatha Christie Mile – a celebration of Christie’s legacy.

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Greenway Rd, Kingswear, Brixham TQ5 0ES, United Kingdom

 

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Agatha Christie Bust in Torquay WWP
Memorial & Statue

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A bronze bust of Agatha Christie resides outside the Pavilion theatre in her hometown of Torquay, where her first husband, Archie Christie, proposed to her after attending a Wagner concert. Carol Van Den Boom-Cairns created the bust in 1990 as part of the anniversary celebrations of the famous English author. Her daughter, Rosalind Hicks, unveiled it. The bust is a stop on the Agatha Christie Mile – a self-guided walking tour along Torquay seafront. It features various landmarks significant to Christie’s life and works, such as Princess Pier, where she roller-skated, the strand that appears in many of her books, Torre Abbey Garden, which inspired many of the poisons in her novels, numerous memorial plaques, and the Agatha Christie Gallery at Torquay Museum. Soon to join the Agatha Christie Mile is a full-size statue of Christie made by artist Elisabeth Hadley. Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is one of the best-sellers authors of all time and became known as the Queen of Mystery for her many detective novels. She was born in Torquay, England, into a middle-class family. Being homeschooled, she taught herself to read at the age of five, and by the age of ten, she wrote her first poem and has never stopped writing since. After many years of getting rejected by publishers, she published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, introducing the world to her most beloved character – Hercule Poirot. She became known as a distinguished author who wrote 74 novels, 14 short story collections, and 19 plays; her books were translated into over 100 languages and adapted into dozens of films, TV series, and stage plays. Inspired by her own experiences, many of her stories occurred in places she visited, including her hometown of Torquay, archeological sites in the Middle East, and a memorable ride on the Orient Express. At the time of her death, 85 years old Christie held the record of the best-selling novelist of all time. A 30-minute drive south will take you to Greenway house and garden, the summer house of Christie and her family. Nowadays is a museum that provides a glimpse into her life in her home and the surroundings she loved. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
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