The village’s main street of somewhat austere houses is interesting
as the
birthplace of Sir Henry Irving, the Victorian actor-manager; his house,
marked by a plaque, is one of a row facing the baker’s shop. Irving,
the son of a local tradesman, achieved fame at the age of 33 when he
played in The Bells at London’s Lysceum Theatre. He was
the first actor to be knighted, and his ashes are in Westminster Abbey. |
