After Edith Craig's death in 1947, Sir John Gielgud alongside Lewis Casson together with a host of theatrical personalities of the day formed the Ellen Terry Fellowship. The Fellowship leased the barn from the National Trust and each year brought a production down from London for a memorial matinee between 1947 and 1961. During this time most of the great names of the theatre appeared at the Barn.
Sir John Gielgud continued to serve as a patron to the Barn Theatre until his passing in 2000.
(Above, Sir John Gielgud as Hamlet. Photo courtesy of britishheritage.org)
Sir John Gielgud:
"The many occasions when I took part in the anniversary galas at Smallhythe are very vivid in my memory especially as my last meeting with Ellen Terry was in sitting them at the farm when I called to see her unexpectedly and spent an unforgettable half hour talking to her not long before her death.
The yearly celebrations were always somewhat haphazard and carried out with the characteristic mixture of improvisation and professionalism which was so typical of Edie Craig and her henchmen. I will remember doing some scenes from Macbeth with Martita Hunt and Peggy Ashcroft went down with me twice to play Viola in some Twelfth Night scenes and later Beatrice in Much Ado. I particularly cherish a reading by Vita Sackville-West in which she beguiled us with her brilliant study of Ellen.
The atmosphere of the barn with his excellent acoustics and romantic setting seemed to provide a background which one felt to be shadowed by the spirit of Ellen herself.
It is sad to think that so many years have passed since those days and so many of those who were present both on and off the stage have already gone but I am happy to think that the museum and the theatre have passed to a succession of sympathetic and capable hands and still give pleasure and memories to so many visitors"
(Taken from the forward to the book: The Story of The Barn Theatre by Anthony Thomas, 1989)
