Notley Abbey was the Country Home of Lord & Lady Olivier between 1945 & 1960 where they Entertained a host of famous Actors from both Stage & Screen.
Olivier, was now in his Pomp as an Actor, and the same year used the money from his triumphant Film of Henry V to purchase his dream Home, Notley Abbey in Bucks. The house was soon to offer Vivien a Refuge, when in 1945 she fell seriously ill with Tuberculosis, and had to spend 9-months there recuperating.
Vivien & Larry 1st saw Notley Abbey in 1943. It was Overgrown and in Desperate need of Restoration. Larry instantly fell in love with it, especially since he found out that it had been Founded during the Reign of Henry II & Visited by Henry V. Vivien like friend David Niven was Sceptical & considered it Hopeless. Much of the House could not be Viewed from inside because Ceilings were Caving-in, Floors Rotting & Pipes were burst. Nevertheless, the Olivier’s Purchased it in February 1945 and immediately began Work on it. Vivien, too, soon fell in Love with the Abbey. They put all their Savings into Repairing the Abbey. They focused on the Large Hall, Study, 3-Reception Rooms & Bedrooms. With the help of Decorators Sybil Colfax (1874-1950) & John Fowler (1906-1977), Vivien put her personal touch in each Room of Notley. Regency Stripes were used and Large Pieces of Furniture & Artwork were chosen.
A Place to Call Home – “I will have everything that I want at Notley – as well as my Husband” Vivien Leigh once said. Gwen Robyns Writes in ‘Light of a Star’: “For their own Bedroom Vivien chose an L-shaped Room where she could lie in Bed and look across the Meadows to the River Thame. When the Spring Weather came she got up for a few hours each day and lay on the Terrace basking in the Sun and planning her future Garden. Roses were to be the Main Theme. In the Walled Garden at the Side of the House, with its View of the Ancient Dovecot that had once Housed some 5,000-Doves, she planned her Rose Garden. During all the Summers that they loved at Notley, you could find Vivien out with a Sussex Trug in her Rose Garden every morning picking off the Heads of the dead Roses. White Roses were her favourite flowers.”
Crendon North East Section Map Dated 1593 by Cartographer Thomas Langdon
Crendon North Section Map Dated 1593 by Cartographer Thomas Langdon
Crendon South Map Dated 1593 by Cartographer Thomas Langdon
Weekends at Notley Abbey – Cynthia Molt Wrote: “Any Visitor to Notley could find Luxurious Accommodations, and slept in a Bedroom comprised of matching Curtains & Sheets, a Breakfast Set & Toilet Paper matching the Colour of the Bathroom. The House was Open almost around the Clock. If one were to arrive at 1-am, a complete Dinner, with Candlelight, would be ready & waiting.” During the years they lived at Notley it was like one vast Set from a Terence Rattigan Play.
Rachel Kempson (Actress) said: “Vivien made every weekend so Special & Wonderful. She was such a loving & giving person.”
Lady Redgrave described how Weekends at Notley Abbey began at Durham Cottage, the Olivier’s Chelsea Home & Meeting Place. “It was usually after the Theatre on a Saturday Night as we had mostly all been Working. There would be something small like delicious little sandwiches & drinks. We would then split up into Cars & begin the hour & a quarter Drive to Thame. As most of us were pretty tired it was a very pleasant way of unwinding. Arriving at Notley at Midnight out of the Dark was marvellous. All the lights would be blazing, huge Fires everywhere & masses of Flowers.”
Gwen Robyns Journalist & Author wrote: “Everyone would Meet in the Library for drinks & then proceed to a 4 or 5-course Dinner. The food was always superb. Her Mimosa Eggs, Watercress Soup, Cold Soufflés & Lobster Newburg were memorable & any new Recipes or Cook Books she heard of were jealously brought home to be discussed at great length with the current Cook.” Dinners usually ended around 1:30am.
Lady Redgrave said: “She never Tired. It was incredible. Larry & the rest of us would quite obviously be dying on our feet, but not Vivien. She simply never looked or behaved as if she was Tired.”
Peter Finch (Actor) said: “An Attitude circulated that these Weekend Parties were in some way Exclusive Gatherings of a small & somewhat Superior Theatrical Clique. It was never like that. Vivien adored her Home & she was never happier than when she could share the peace & beauty of Notley. Larry, I remember, spent much of his time enjoying his Hobby of Tree Pruning. I spent one glorious afternoon employed on nothing more glamorous than cleaning out a stretch of clogged-up Thame River.”
Gwen Robyns wrote: “Somehow between Playing in the Theatre, Planning Productions & leading a full Social life in London she always found time to order just the right Cheeses from the Special Shop, to see that the right New Book was placed at the Bedside of a Guest who would enjoy it and to make each friend feel that this was one of the most cherished & special Weekends of his or her life. It is a very special Gift.”
Larry fell in love with the place’s Gothic History. On that 1st Visit, Larry had placed the Medieval Key into the Gothic Oak Door, his mind was made up. The Lovers bought the Abbey & brought the Rooms back to life as they renovated it. With the help of Sibyl Colefax, the favourite Decorator of the Stars, Royalty, & Nobility at the time, Vivien furnished it with valuable Pieces, an admirable mixture of Brocade & Comfort, Antique & Scholarly Manuscripts & a modest Wealth of fine Paintings.
Anne Edwards describes Notley Abbey in an Article featured in Architectural Digest: “The House soon started to possess its Occupants. It was a demanding place that seemed to Insist that one put on Evening Dress before descending the Staircase for Dinner.”
It had been Founded during the Reign of Henry II in the 12thC. Larry’s son Tarquin (by his 1st marriage) described the Abbey, “the River Thame meandering in weedy shallows through the Elm Woods, the Willowed Fields. This place where Henry V once stayed, breathed Heraldry. In the Attic were priceless Frescoes of the Emblem of Notley embracing the Hazel Nut & the Lover’s Knot. There was an exhausted Sexuality about the place, regretful Black Rooks high out of reach, umbrella Poplar Trees silvering against the Sky’s in unlabouring cascades, a cruelty unearthed in the of Corpses of Monks buried under the High Alban before the Dissolution of Monasteries by Henry VIII (1538)
“Of all the Houses I’ve lived in over the years, Notley is my Favourite. It was absolutely Enchanting & it Enchanted me. At Notley I had an Affair with the Past. For me it had Mesmeric Power; I could easily Drown in its Atmosphere. I could not leave it alone, I was a Child lost in its History. Perhaps I Loved it too much, if that is possible.”– Laurence Olivier
7th July 1953 – Olivier’s Robber: Notley Abbey, Bucks, Vivien Leigh was robbed early yesterday. Thieves carried a Ladder from the Abbey Barn & used at to climb into the Olivier’s Bedroom Window – and stole Furs & Jewellery valued at about £5,000. Vivian Leigh, who has been making good progress after her Breakdown in March – is suffering from Shock as result of the Robbery – & spent yesterday in Bed.
Book Extracts on the Oliviers
Vivien’s mental health & the couple’s marriage became increasingly unstable. In 1952, Olivier, appearing in Peter Brook’s Film of The Beggar’s Opera, began an affair with fellow Cast member Dorothy Tutin. Later the same year, Vivien went to Ceylon to shoot Elephant Walk with Peter Finch, a man with a strong Sexual Drive & something of a Hellraiser. Vivien was beguiled by Finch’s Eastern Mysticism & his talk of ‘Twin Souls’ & ‘Karma’ & they began an Affair. The 2 of them disappeared into the Cooler Hills & stayed out all night. Some nights she never slept. Drink exacerbated her Instability.
In 1957 the Couple moved to London’s Eaton Square. That year Olivier played opposite Dorothy Tutin in John Osborne’s The Entertainer. Joan Plowright then replaced Tutin & now she & Olivier started a relationship. In 1958, in Duel Of Angels, Vivien took up with Peter Wyngarde (of Jason King Fame).
Leigh – February 1960 – it seems as if Notley is Sold. I can hardly write the words. A Canadian couple saw it some weeks ago, made an immediate & perfectly good Offer & want to move in at the end of April. It doesn’t seem possible, does it? Of course it is looking particularly Beautiful. We have had the most glorious crisp & dazzling winter days – I walk from place to precious place & gaze at the beloved views with tears pouring down my face. What Memories for all one’s life – such unbelievable rare happiness, sweetness & quietude there has been here. I don’t forget the other times too, but they seem to me outweighed by blissful togetherness. Dear God it is a heartache – the fact that we have known for some time now that it would have to go doesn’t seem to help in the least. It is 15-yrs – a great part of one’s life. Shall you ever forget our walk on that misty Moonlit night? Oh the 100s of times my beloved Larry & I have wandered here in wonder & grateful amazement at the beauty all around us – the feeling that we were a little responsible for creating it too made it all so doubly Dear. It is hard to imagine life without such an Oasis. To think that you will not see it again seems quite untrue. If you have felt hurt at my not writing you now know the reason why – for what such upheavals shake one’s life in every direction it is difficult to assemble one’s thoughts & communicate freely. Do not blame Larry for not writing, he has had a tremendous amount to do & I think, is feeling, in his own way, as uncertain & unhappy.
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 