White Cottages at St Margaret's Bay, below the cliffs, one was owned by Noël Coward and later bought by by Ian Flemming
Situated at the east end of St Margaret's Bay, and below the cliffs north of South Foreland. are several cottages, two of which were owned by Noël Coward and one of which was rented by Ian Fleming. Noel Coward bought the house White Cliffs at St. Margaret's Bay Norton in 1945. Coward derived great pleasure from the coastal location, the house was built so close to the sea that the waves lapped the walls of his bedroom, and the cliffs rose steeply behind the house. “I don't think I can fail to be happy here” he remarked. During the war, White Cliffs had been torn apart by British and Canadian troops training for D-Day. There was no heating or lighting and the wind whipped through the broken windows. With the help of his stage designing friend Gladys Calthrop, who lived nearby on the cliff in The Moorings, and the comfort of delicious lunch boxes from Madame Floris, a London confectioner, Coward set about installing electricity and plumbing. He also painted the house from top to bottom, transforming it into a glamorous seaside home. On the long beach of St. Margaret's Bay there were then only four houses and White Cliffs was the closest to the sea. Coward wanted to purchase them all in order to secure his privacy, but in the post-war days of 1945 there was a housing shortage in South East England and thus Coward was forbidden to purchase more than his one house. To ensure Coward's privacy, two of the other houses were bought by Coward's friends, novelist Eric Ambler and Cole Lesley, and the third by Coward's mother and Auntie Vida. Despite investigation by Fleet Street and a suspicious Ministry of Works, no breach of the law was discovered. The beach-side location of White Cliffs afforded stunning views of the Channel; Coward was delighted by the nearness of the water on one side and the sheer cliffs on the other. Ian Fleming purchased White Cliffs from Noel Coward in 1951 and he lived there until 1957.
Size: 5589px × 3700px
Location: St Margaret's Bay, Kent,
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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