Agatha Christie Country
Dame Agatha Christie was born in Torquay and she loved South Devon passionately. In 1938 she bought Greenway House, a Georgian property near Dartmouth, high in the dense trees along the River Dart. The Greenway Estate was once home to the Gilberts, seafaring half-brothers to Sir Walter Raleigh. Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth in 1583, which brought prosperity to Dartmouth’s fishing fleet.
Initially, Agatha and her second husband Max spent little time there, but as keen gardeners took a close interest in the planting. The Admiralty requisitioned Greenway in 1943 it was used to house American Naval officers, who left as their legacy a wall painting portraying the Allied leaders. But from the late 1940s, until her death in 1976, the family spent long summers there and Agatha’s daughter Rosalind inherited it.
The boat trip you can do on the Dart, Agatha used in Dead Man’s Folly, with the murdered girl being found in Greenway’s boathouse. She set a short story, The Regatta Mystery, in Dartmouth, which became Drymouth in Ordeal by Innocence, in which the short ferry ride mirrors that between Dartmouth and Kingswear.
Agatha loved trains, and the restored steam trains that run on the line between Dartmouth and Paignton, passing near her home, pull carriages of which Miss Marple would have approved. Disembark at Churston, and you’ll find a Good Shepherd window in the church there, installed by the author and glowing in Agatha Christie’s favourite mauve and green.
Visiting Greenway
Ferries from Dartmouth, Brixham and Torquay land at Greenway Quay. Arriving by river is the most convenient wayto travel as there are no parking places on the narrow country lanes leading to Greenway and limited parking at the quay. There are splendid views of the house from the river and a pathway from the quay to the garden, which is magical.
Famed for its collection of rare plants and drifts of native wild flowers, the romantic woodland garden evokes a past era. See the Victorian fernery, restored vinery, enigmatic Raleigh’s Boathouse and bath house at the water’s edge.
There are plans to open the house to the public in 2009. The Barn Gallery shows contemporary art by local artists and there’s a terrific tearoom.
Contact tel: +44 (0) 1803 842382, fax: +44 (0)1803 661900, e-mail:
Cost adult ticket: £5 - £10 pp, child ticket: £1 - £5 pp
Useful links
Greenway Ferry
National Trust | Greenway
Added 2008/08/09 @ 01:12:25
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