Ellen Terry’s Chinese Robes, c.1905-1915

The other week I went to the Victorian actress Ellen Terry’s cottage at Smallhythe, near Tenterden in Kent, now managed by the National Trust. Terry first took over the cottage in 1899. A year after her death in 1928 her daughter, Edith Craig, transformed the house into a museum which now displays a fascinating personal and theatrical collection that reflects Ellen’s extraordinary career and unconventional private life.

Among the exhibits on display is Terry’s “Chinese Dress(s)”. The Chinese style robes were worn by Terry around 1910. Sorry about my rather poor photography – the lower one of Smallhythe Place is from the National Trust…