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44:. She lived there from her birth until the time of her marriage, and intermittently thereafter. She reluctantly sold it in 1940; in 1962 it was demolished and replaced with a small estate of houses. A blue plaque marks the top left corner of the two-acre property which was Ashfield. Christie loved this house, and even in old age remembered it fondly. In her autobiography, she stated:
106:
and married Clara's aunt. When he died in 1869 he left the bulk of his fortune in a complicated series of trusts to
Frederick, his only child, but he also left Clara a small sum. Because of this inheritance, Frederick did not need to earn a livelihood, and so involved himself in many social pursuits;
237:
Then came the garden proper – a stretch of lawn running downhill and studded with certain interesting entities. The ilex, the cedar, the
Wellingtonia (excitingly tall). Two fir trees ….. the turpentine tree which exuded a sticky strong smelling gum which I collected carefully in leaves and which was
208:
She described the external conservatory which can be seen in the photo of
Ashfield above and in a close view below: "The conservatory, a grandiloquent erection, containing pots of begonias, geraniums, tiered stands of every kind of fern, and several large palm trees." These palm trees can be seen in
171:
In her autobiography, she gave an account of her life at
Ashfield and some descriptions of the house. The following include the relevant reports to enable a more detailed picture of the property to be formed. Her earliest memories were of the nursery and her nanny whom she called "Nursie". She said:
167:
Agatha
Christie was born at Ashfield in 1890. Her baptismal certificate (which is shown on the right) records that she was living here with her parents Frederick and Clara. The vicar who performed the ceremony was Rev Henry William Majendie, who was rector of All Saints Church, Torre, until 1900. He
74:
The
Ordnance map to the right shows Ashfield surrounded by similar villa houses, each in their own one- or two-acre gardens. Ashfield was a large early Victorian house whose entrance carriage drive ran from Barton Road not far from the Blue Plaque. It wound through the front garden up to the house.
176:
The outstanding figure in my life was Nursie. And round myself and Nursie was our own special world, The
Nursery. I can see the wallpaper now – mauve irises climbing up the walls in an endless pattern. I used to lie in bed looking at it in the firelight or the subdued light of Nursie’s oil lamp on
48:
I remember, I remember the house where I was born. I go back to that always in my mind. Ashfield. How much that means. When I dream I hardly ever dream of
Greenway or Winterbrook. It is always Ashfield, the old familiar setting where one’s life first functioned… How well I know every detail there:
127:
The house was owned by some people named Brown who were
Quakers, and when my mother hesitatingly condoled with Mrs Brown on having to leave the house they had lived in so many years the lady said gently, "I am happy to think of thee and thy children living here, my dear." It was, my mother said,
186:
One other person of importance in the house was Jane our cook, who ruled the kitchen with a calm superiority of a queen. She came to my mother when she was a slim girl of nineteen promoted from being a kitchen maid. Jane cooked five-course dinners for seven or eight people as a matter of daily
241:
Thirdly, there was the wood. In my imagination it looked and indeed still looms as large as the New Forest. Mainly composed of Ash trees it had a path winding through it. The wood had everything that is connected with woods. Mystery, terror, secret delight, inaccessibility and distance.
122:
My mother, whom we always claimed was clairvoyant replied that they could always sell it again. Perhaps she saw dimly her family living in that house for many years ahead. I loved that house as soon as I got into it, she insisted. "It's got a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere."
118:, was born. Frederick needed to return to America for a short time, so he asked Clarissa to look for a house. She bought Ashfield with some of her inheritance from Nathaniel Miller. Agatha records her mother's recollections of this event in her autobiography:
168:
was also the one responsible for the erection of the new church that
Frederick Miller helped to construct by giving a generous donation in his infant daughter's name. The baptismal font that he used to christen Agatha is in the present All Saints Church.
238:
very precious balm. Finally the crowning glory the beech tree – the biggest tree in the garden with a pleasant shedding of beechnuts which I ate with relish. There was a copper beech too but this for some reason never counted in my tree world.
78:
The greenhouse, which Agatha said "adjoined the house on one side", was called K. K. The garden in the background in the photograph to the left is the main garden and stretches south-east toward the neighbouring property of “St Marys”.
215:"This small greenhouse called I don’t know K. K. (or possibly Kai Kai?) was bereft of plants and housed instead croquet mallets, hoops, balls, broken garden chairs, old painted iron tables, a decayed tennis net and Matilde ."
131:
The advertisement for Ashfield that Mrs Brown placed in the newspaper in 1880 is shown. It describes the many rooms of the house and gives an outline of the garden with its beautiful trees and fine views.
234:"There was a kitchen garden, bounded by a high wall which abutted on the road. This was uninteresting to me except as a provider of raspberries and green apples, both of which I ate in large quantities.
181:
She also remembered from an early age their cook Jane, who remained with the family for forty years. Jane Rowe is shown in the census form below as the cook living with the Millers in 1901. Agatha said:
49:
the frayed red curtain leading to the kitchen, the sunflower brass fender in the hall grate, the Turkey carpet on the stairs, the big shabby schoolroom with its dark blue and gold embossed wallpaper.
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She also described the greenhouse called K. K.which can be seen in the above photo on the far left. She said it "adjoined the house on one side".
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Agatha was particularly fond of the garden and described it in depth. Some of the features she outlines can be seen in the Ordnance map above.
25:
Ashfield in about 1900. This view is the back of the house. The Conservatory is on the extreme right and is labelled in the Ordnance map below
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The photo of the house above is from the back, showing the external glass conservatory on the right. This conservatory is marked on the map.
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The path through the woods led out onto the tennis or croquet lawn at the top of a high bank in front of the dining room window."
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routine. For grand dinner parties of twelve or more each contained alternatives – two soups, two fish courses etc".
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102:. Frederick's father Nathaniel had amassed a fortune through a partnership in a milling firm. Nathaniel came to
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The Conservatory on the right of the back of the house showing the palm trees which were described by Agatha.
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Hundle Judith “The Getaway Guide to Agatha Christie's England”, pp. 3-6.
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33:
322:“An historical survey of Torquay from the earliest times”, p. 235.
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110:
In 1878 Frederick married Clara; a year later their first child,
152:
Agatha Christie in front of the verandah at the back of Ashfield
335:
86:
Mrs Brown's advertisement for the sale of Ashfield in 1880
313:
The Times (London) October 9, 1880, Issue 30008, p.15.
70:
Agatha Christie and her father outside the greenhouse
62:
1880 Ordnance Map of Devon showing Ashfield (centre)
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1088:The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories
163:in front of the verandah at the back of the house
1137:Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories
195:Rental notice by Frederick for Ashfield in 1890
347:
8:
1581:Demolished buildings and structures in Devon
107:he was generally regarded as "a gentleman".
1586:Buildings and structures demolished in 1962
354:
340:
332:
1144:Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories
98:. He was an American, born and raised in
1158:While the Light Lasts and Other Stories
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114:, arrived, and in 1880 their only son,
1109:The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
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852:The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
1413:Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures
1382:Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks
1095:Three Blind Mice and Other Stories
14:
1123:The Golden Ball and Other Stories
1513:
1512:
144:Christie's baptismal certificate
16:Agatha Christie's childhood home
1445:Agatha and the Midnight Murders
1102:The Under Dog and Other Stories
488:The Mysterious Affair at Styles
292:SW England OS 25 inch 1873-1888
1437:Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar
1429:Agatha and the Truth of Murder
54:Ashfield and the Miller family
1:
1500:Agatha Christie Award (Japan)
1375:The Mousetrap and Other Plays
537:The Mystery of the Blue Train
112:Margaret "Madge" Frary Miller
1116:Double Sin and Other Stories
894:By the Pricking of My Thumbs
579:Murder on the Orient Express
405:Tommy and Tuppence Beresford
116:Louis Montant "Monty" Miller
1218:Witness for the Prosecution
523:The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
203:Census of 1901 for Ashfield
1602:
1347:Come, Tell Me How You Live
649:Hercule Poirot's Christmas
586:Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
551:The Murder at the Vicarage
425:Chief Inspector James Japp
410:Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent
40:was the childhood home of
1508:
984:The Rose and the Yew Tree
509:The Man in the Brown Suit
369:
1421:The Unicorn and the Wasp
1399:Agatha Christie Memorial
1183:And Then There Were None
1060:Parker Pyne Investigates
677:One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
663:And Then There Were None
1315:Butter in a Lordly Dish
1081:The Labours of Hercules
991:A Daughter's a Daughter
782:They Do It with Mirrors
698:The Body in the Library
544:The Seven Dials Mystery
502:The Murder on the Links
420:Captain Arthur Hastings
1190:Appointment with Death
1053:The Listerdale Mystery
1032:The Mysterious Mr Quin
922:Elephants Can Remember
908:Passenger to Frankfurt
726:Death Comes as the End
642:Appointment with Death
516:The Secret of Chimneys
280:Agatha Christie, 2010
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96:Frederick Alvah Miller
90:Agatha's parents were
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26:
1151:The Harlequin Tea Set
1039:The Thirteen Problems
838:Cat Among the Pigeons
761:A Murder Is Announced
614:Murder in Mesopotamia
558:The Sittaford Mystery
400:Superintendent Battle
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24:
1246:The Unexpected Guest
1130:Poirot's Early Cases
977:Absent in the Spring
824:4.50 from Paddington
810:Hickory Dickory Dock
796:A Pocket Full of Rye
768:They Came to Baghdad
495:The Secret Adversary
415:Sir Henry Clithering
136:Christie at Ashfield
1543: /
1354:Star Over Bethlehem
1074:The Regatta Mystery
1018:Poirot Investigates
970:Unfinished Portrait
866:A Caribbean Mystery
831:Ordeal by Innocence
803:Destination Unknown
600:Death in the Clouds
128:"like a blessing".
1547:50.4746°N 3.5424°W
1340:The Road of Dreams
1253:Go Back for Murder
1197:Murder on the Nile
1067:Murder in the Mews
1046:The Hound of Death
873:At Bertram's Hotel
775:Mrs McGinty's Dead
747:Taken at the Flood
684:Evil Under the Sun
621:Cards on the Table
607:The A.B.C. Murders
565:Peril at End House
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1483:Ashfield, Torquay
1424:(2008 TV episode)
1025:Partners in Crime
789:After the Funeral
733:Sparkling Cyanide
712:The Moving Finger
635:Death on the Nile
593:Three Act Tragedy
572:Lord Edgware Dies
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1552:50.4746; -3.5424
1548:
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1536:
1516:
1515:
1479:(second husband)
1453:See How They Run
1416:(2004 docudrama)
1368:An Autobiography
1308:Three Blind Mice
1286:television plays
901:Hallowe'en Party
817:Dead Man's Folly
705:Five Little Pigs
430:Miss Jane Marple
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324:Online reference
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303:Online reference
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282:An Autobiography
278:
92:Clarissa Boehmer
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1576:Agatha Christie
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1489:Greenway Estate
1473:(first husband)
1471:Archie Christie
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1301:The Yellow Iris
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943:Sleeping Murder
929:Postern of Fate
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450:Mr. Harley Quin
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363:Agatha Christie
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42:Agatha Christie
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845:The Pale Horse
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656:Murder Is Easy
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1322:Personal Call
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1211:The Mousetrap
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963:Giant's Bread
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887:Endless Night
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754:Crooked House
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478:
472:
471:St. Mary Mead
469:
468:
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93:
84:
80:
76:
68:
60:
53:
50:
45:
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39:
35:
31:
23:
19:
1528:
1495:Agatha Award
1482:
1477:Max Mallowan
1451:
1443:
1435:
1427:
1419:
1411:
1403:
1380:
1373:
1366:
1359:
1352:
1345:
1338:
1320:
1313:
1306:
1299:
1292:
1272:
1265:
1258:
1251:
1244:
1237:
1232:Towards Zero
1230:
1225:Spider's Web
1223:
1216:
1209:
1202:
1195:
1188:
1181:
1176:Black Coffee
1174:
1156:
1149:
1142:
1135:
1128:
1121:
1114:
1107:
1100:
1093:
1086:
1079:
1072:
1065:
1058:
1051:
1044:
1037:
1030:
1023:
1016:
1008:Short story
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989:
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968:
961:
941:
934:
927:
920:
913:
906:
899:
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871:
864:
857:
850:
843:
836:
829:
822:
815:
808:
801:
794:
787:
780:
773:
766:
759:
752:
745:
738:
731:
724:
719:Towards Zero
717:
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703:
696:
689:
682:
675:
668:
661:
654:
647:
640:
633:
628:Dumb Witness
626:
619:
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584:
577:
570:
563:
556:
549:
542:
535:
530:The Big Four
528:
521:
514:
507:
500:
493:
486:
455:Raymond West
374:Bibliography
318:
309:
297:
288:
281:
244:
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233:
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214:
211:
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185:
180:
177:the table."
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121:
109:
89:
77:
73:
47:
29:
28:
18:
1550: /
1456:(2022 film)
1448:(2020 film)
1440:(2019 film)
1432:(2018 film)
1408:(1979 film)
1332:Other books
1294:Wasp's Nest
1010:collections
670:Sad Cypress
445:Parker Pyne
384:Adaptations
209:the photo.
1565:Categories
1535:50°28′29″N
1392:Depictions
1284:Radio and
1204:The Hollow
998:The Burden
955:Westmacott
880:Third Girl
859:The Clocks
740:The Hollow
393:Characters
249:References
1538:3°32′33″W
464:Locations
1518:Category
1274:Chimneys
1267:Akhnaton
953:As Mary
379:Universe
100:New York
30:Ashfield
1571:Torquay
1464:Related
1239:Verdict
936:Curtain
915:Nemesis
691:N or M?
104:England
34:Torquay
1491:(home)
1485:(home)
1405:Agatha
480:Novels
219:Garden
1361:Poems
1168:Plays
38:Devon
94:and
32:in
1567::
257:^
36:,
355:e
348:t
341:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
