New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-19
MISS TERRY'S COTTAGE.
w1NCHILsEA is A LITTLE CORNER OUT
OF HEAVEN FOR ARTIST AND
ANTIQUARY.

eyes WInchsea IS fine for fresh air and good
lungs" said Miss Ellen Terry, when asked ABOUT
her summer home the south coast OF England
She owns a rambling English cottage which IL
perched on the edge Of an ancient foruned cone
Tho old town at the top of the cone Is honey
combed with the caverns and ancient cellars In
which the III gotten gains OF ancient freebooters
were stored
WInchilsea ranks first in the possession or those
things which most people don't want. business
# has none. Money It has none. The grass IN I's
streets has not been trampled by commerce LOT
two hundred yeafs chief part OF its wealth 10
ynemories and the London business Phillsune
whose Imagination merely ricochets round gas
liz office truly says he cannot live upon memories
The prmnejs and starch CT the bonHoh pahh
manager as well Of his naughty assistants ana
the more humble solicitors clerk. are alike un-
known In the aerial nttIe to"u ny 'ho WIN
sea
Since Winchilsea gave up the piracy business the
existence Of which was darky limited at as late as
1885, It's interest in State institutions especiaHy
tails and gaows, has perceptbly haggeo ana siiioe
the coast guard station was placed between IL ana
the sea tie intricate studies or revenue ia"s
have received much encouragement. But there
uas q time not so long ago when man might
reasonably accept all the profits that the wide sea
could offer
FROM ROMANCE TO Freshness.
Those huge cellars and storerooms and the I'M
derground recesses barred with rusty iron defences
tell where the silks Of the traders and the rich
Juices Of Portugal stored. To one peerlng
no these places from the bright day outside. faney
paints pictures that never were framed. one falis
to wondering what the bloody handed freebooter or
this natural citadel would say II he returned now
How the grim ringleader Of hundred raids. whose
cutIass chopped its way to the strong box OF the
merchantmen. would mock and chuckle &c ma rvs
nitrate STRONGHOLD in the control Of people VINO
could descend 70 discuss the possible wickedness OF
beer, No ships clustered in the bays below, as
when the sea water Tapped the bases OF this hiI'.
No string of silent men carrying up the booty 70
these secret cellars In the night Time No s@!' eu
blood upon the decks
Tho rora of the place has two derivatlons as
signed both of which are interesting. In the old
Saxon Winces-ea signifies "a waterish place STU
ate in a corner" This describes the position OF the
original town. which. before II was washeu away
by the sea- lay just in the angle made by Rent auo
Sussex. But Jeakes says that the word "chil' In
the Saxon meant cold" and that the right sgnih-
cation IS Wind -cold-sea and In the earliest Roman
records the place IS called Frige-mare-Vehtus-
almost a literal translation, and a combination
name that was evidently an attempt TO give the
meaning of the still earlier native name. the
present Earl OF Winchsca. who owns nothing In
This ueighborhood has adopted this spelling In
preference to that Of Wnchelsea. as 1t appeared In
the patent Of nobility when Elizabeth daughter OF
Sir Thomas Finch. was in 1929, created by Charies
I 10 be Countess Of Winchelsea.
No doubt Il was during OF her holiday drives
through England that Miss Terry first got
glimpse Of her present tiny estate on the cliff edge
This purchase does not suggest any great outlay.
To buy all Winchilsea would be to take what most
people don't want. Artists have curious way OF
picking up things which others would not accept
as a gift Not every can live on memories and
views and the wide. open spaces and the deep
draughts OF the good air: but for others these
things are meat and drink and rest and gadness.
Many dear old women replace the pirates at
Winchllsea They clad In fine old lace and
sweet old smiles and either they or their children
belong to the art fraternity. They come here be-
cause Winchsea Is az cheap and open and lovely
as the artists quarter Of heaven. The nearest APP
proach to a freebooter within their charmed and
charming circle is the young man with the pointed