Episode 88. Elizabeth Robins in Henfield
SYNOPSIS
When the actress, writer, actress and suffragist Elizabeth Robins (1862-1952) bought a home in the village of Henfield, West Sussex in 1908, she had already established herself as a successful member of England’s literati.
Elizabeth had fallen for the small manor house of Backsettown, close to but hidden away from the centre of the village, and like other successful writers of the period she was able to acquire a country retreat in which to write and entertain because of the branch railway system. She was not to the manor born, having grown up in a struggling and divided family in Kentucky during the early years of the American Civil War.
A friend of Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw and Henry James, Robins burst on to the London stage in the 1890s, becoming known as the ‘High Priestess of Ibsen.’ As her Backsettown visitors book demonstrates, Robins went on to move in the highest circles of the suffrage movement, and village lore holds that young women who had engaged in violent London demonstrations hid from the police there too.
GUESTS
The origins of Henfield Museum go back to the early 1930s when Miss Lucie Bishop with her aunt Alice Standen produced a small archive of local history objects for exhibition. From 1991 initially as assistant curator and more recently as curator, Alan Barwick has been involved with the cataloguing and administration of the museum. Alan talks to local audiences about Henfield history, including the story of Elizabeth Robins, the village’s most distinguished resident.
Simon’s interview with Alan Barwick was recorded at Henfield Museum on 24 June 2026.