Why Did Lee Miller and Roland Penrose choose to live in Chiddingly?

It was Roland Penrose’s choice to come here because;

• He knew the area from childhood visits to his relatives in nearby Herstmonceux.
• He was friendly with the Bloomsbury group and had visited Charleston.
• It is conveniently close to Newhaven which was a help before air travel to France became so usual.

Does anyone live in the house?

There is a small apartment at the top of the house which is usually occupied. About 5 people work here all the time, creating books, exhibitions, films and other things from the material held by The Lee Miller Archives and The Penrose Collection.

Is the house haunted?

There are many ghosts but they are all friendly. They just get on with their lives and try not to bother us.

Where are Lee Miller, Roland Penrose, Valentine Penrose and Suzanna Penrose buried?

Lee, Roland and Valentine were cremated and their ashes scattered in the garden. Suzanna was also cremated and her ashes were scattered at her home at Burgh Hill House.

What is the most valuable thing in the house?

We never discuss the value of anything.

What kind of security do you have?

We never discuss security except when obliged by the law to refer to the CCTV cameras and sometime to refer to the resident ‘Attack Tortoises’ which are the only pets we can have because being cold blooded they don’t set off the alarms.

Who owns the house and collection?

It is owned by the Penrose family as a private family trust.

Is photography permitted during a visit to the house?

Unfortunately copyright reasons and in the interest of preserving some of the works that are light sensitive, we regret that no photography is permitted in the house. Outside the house photographs may be taken for personal use only.

Does the house get any government funding?

No, it exists solely on what is earned by the admissions from tours, the production of books, photographs, exhibitions and films and copyright fees.

What is the relationship between the House, / The Lee Miller Archives / The Penrose Collection and Farleys Yard Trust?

FYT is a charitable trust set up to carry out educational work and encourage the work of young artists. It is a separate entity from the Penrose family trust and as such receives funding from grants and donations. It uses the old Sussex barn in the farm yard by arrangement with the Penrose family.

How old is the Long Man of Wilmington?

Some people cite evidence that suggests he is not more than about 600 years old, but his Neolithic connections and importance is clear from the tumuli on top of the hill and his position as the origin of the ley line that runs north from him through Chiddingly church. It is true that the drawing may have been reworked several times, and we know he was re-drawn in Victorian times but his sense and placement suggest he was first made about 5,000 years ago.

How old is the House?

The house is hard to date because it has been continuously rebuilt and altered. The oldest part is the dinning room which is thought to be on the site of a much older dwelling, possibly a medieval hall type structure. The brick façade on the road side is about 1730 and façade facing the top lawn is about 1750. The old kitchen is about 1850. The parlour at the back of the kitchen was built by Roland Penrose in 1954, and he built Lee’s study on the west side in the early 1960’s.

Where was Valentine Penrose born and who was she?

Condom sur Baise, Gascony, France. 1898. She was a Surrealist Poet, writer and artist. She married Roland Penrose in 1925 and they divorced 1937. She died at Farley Farm House 1978

Who was Patsy Murray?

Patsy Murray was the housekeeper to Penrose family since 1951, nanny and de facto mother to Antony Penrose, and granny to Ami, Eliza and Joshua as well as an amazing person to her own family. She died 20th February 2008.