We were delighted to hear from Robert Rice (Th 60) about his musical and charitable work and to share an invitation to OHs to attend a performance of Antonio Salieri’s La locandiera (‘The Landlady’), at the opera house built at his home in Wadhurst, Kent, on 6th September, to support KSS, the wonderful air ambulance charity who attend to medical emergencies throughout Kent Surrey and Sussex.
From threshing barn to opera house
After I retired from my software business in 2016 – well, semi-retired – some clients just don’t get the hint! – Florence and I decided it was time we down-sized from the Old Vicarage, Wadhurst, the 18th century ironmaster’s house where I was born and where we had lived since returning from Saudi Arabia in 1985. But where to go? Our two older boys, Edward (digital marketing) and Charles (opera singer), had fled the roost some years ago, but we needed to remain close to Tunbridge Wells, where our youngest, Tom, who is disabled, is a “weekly boarder” at the Leonard Cheshire home.
Nothing seemed to tick all the boxes, until Simon, our estate agent, suggested we look at Old Walland, a beautiful modern house, set in the outskirts of Wadhurst, in the Wealden Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with lovely views over the Rother Valley. The main house was originally built in the vernacular style just over ten years ago by the architect Ptolemy Dean for his own family, but many of the outbuildings once served the neighbouring Walland Manor. The moment we saw it, we were hooked.
But although our own house had been on the market for a while, we still hadn’t had an offer. So we tried to forget the idea, but none of the houses we looked at seem to measure up to Old Walland. And then Simon came back with the news that Ptolemy, an expert on restoration, was desperate to acquire a historic building for himself – preferably an old vicarage. So… we did a swap!
Old Walland itself, of course, needed little attention, but the outbuildings were a different matter. So once we had settled in, we turned our attention to the magnificent traditional Sussex threshing barn you can see in the photo. But in the absence of corn-fields, what do you do with a threshing barn? Well, the ground plan of the building is just like a that of a church – the main body like a long nave, the threshing floor forming the 2 transepts and beyond a “chancel” with a sacristy-like stable to one side. So, for someone brought up in a clerical household, an obvious answer might have been to convert it into a place of worship.
But for anyone who has worked in the City, and with a son already in the music industry, there was an even more obvious answer – turn it into an opera house! What might have been the nave would form the auditorium, the threshing floor the orchestra, the chancel the stage, and the sacristy the green room.
So that is what we have done, though opera house is rather too grand an expression, especially as we wanted to retain the agricultural character of the barn as far as we could. Bampton Opera, who inaugurated the building for us in its new form in 2022, were perhaps more accurate when they described it as “an intimate performance space”, albeit one whose oak beams and cladding turn out to have an excellent acoustic. It seats up to 110, but about 20 less if there is a significant orchestra such as Bampton like to field.
Since 2022 Bampton has returned each year with a new production, and each year we have been able to support a new charity with the donations included with the tickets. This year it is the 200th anniversary of Antonio Salieri – not just the villain in Amadeus, but one of the most popular opera composers of his time, outliving his rival Mozart by 34 years! What better way to commemorate him than a performance of his La locandiera (‘The Landlady’), after a play by Goldoni, first performed in Vienna in 1773.
This year our chosen date is 6th September, and we will be supporting KSS, the wonderful air ambulance charity who attend to medical emergencies throughout Kent Surrey and Sussex (hence the name!).
We’d be delighted to hear from anyone who might be interested in attending or would just like to get in touch. Just drop me an email at BOW@wadhurst.net.
More from The Haileybury Society
- Robert Rice (Th 60) – From threshing barn to opera house
- Canon John Stow (K 65)
- Bisley Vets’ Rifle Competition
- Gareth George (LS & BF 97-04) – Dedication, Consistency & Hard Work
- The Haileybury Society Jersey Trip
- In memory of Charles Brown (E 77)
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Unless otherwise stated, all content and images on this website and blog © The Haileybury Society, 2024, all rights reserved