West Dean House

West Dean House

West Dean House near Chichester in West Sussex was used for private theatricals by the James family in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

William (Willie) Dodge James and his wife Evelyn Forbes moved to West Dean House in 1891. The couple were in the social set of Edward and Alexandra, Prince and Princess of Wales, who visited the property on a number of occasions.

Evelyn James was particularly fond of private and amateur theatricals and founded the 'West Dean Dramatic Club' in 1895. The group's performances were recorded in a scrapbook and are listed below:

Play / Performance	Dates	Location	Additional Notes
Caste by T. W. Robertson	25-26 February 1895	Chichester Corn Exchange
Diplomacy by B. C. Stephenson and Clement Scott	30 October and 2 November 1895	Empire Palace Theatre, Edinburgh	Lord Rosslyn's Matinées
Dr Johnson by Leo Trevor and The Money Spinner by Arthur Wing Pinero	7-8 January 1896	West Dean Park, West Sussex
Dr Johnson by Leo Trevor and The Money Spinner by Arthur Wing Pinero	27-28 January 1896	Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
The Parvenu by G. W. Godfey and The Highwayman by Justin H. McCarthy	13-14 February 1896	Tranby Croft, East Riding of Yorkshire
Concert followed by Sweethearts by W. S. Gilbert	3 April 1897	The Casino, Biarritz
Sweethearts by W. S. Gilbert and A Commission by Weedon Grossmith	7-8 January 1897-8?	Pavilion Theatre, Buxton, Derbyshire
Her New Dressmaker by W. R. Walker and Too Clever by Half (author unknown)	11 December 1897	West Dean Park, West Sussex
His Little Dodge and Kitty Clive by F. Frankfort Moore	7 January 1898	Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Dandy Dick by Arthur Wing Pinero	19-20 December 1899?	Town Hall, Rugby	Organised by Mrs Arthur James
Peace and War - a Masque	13 February 1900	Her Majesty's Theatre, London	Organised by Mrs Arthur Paget
A Pantomime Rehearsa and Le Bibelot	January 1901	Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Masks and Faces by Tom Taylor and Charles Reade	28 May 1901	Chichester Corn Exchange
Manœuvres of Jane	December 1903	Market Harborough and Rugby	Organised by Mrs Arthur James
Cinderella and the Magic Slipper by Leo Trevor	January 1904	Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Manœuvres of Jane	January 1904	Brighton Alhambra
The Duke of Killicrankie by Robert Marshall	TBC	Chichester Corn Exchange
The Duke of Killicrankie by Robert Marshall	February	Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
In the Cause of Charity by Leo Trevor and 'Imitations' by Miss Gladys Marsden and Scenes from The Hunchback by James Sheridan Knowles	15-16 December 1905	Chichester Corn Exchange
The Isle of Pharawai by Don Pedro de Zulueta	December 1906	Chichester Corn Exchange
A Queen's Messenger by J. Hartley Manners, Op = O' = Me Thumb by Frederick Fenn and Richard Pryce and A Privy Council by Major W. P. Drury and Richard Pryce	28 February 1908	Chichester Corn Exchange
Concert	July 1908	Bryanston Square, London
The Mollusc by Hubert Henry Davies	1909	Chichester Corn Exchange
The Mollusc by Hubert Henry Davies	13 February 1909	The Opera House, Tunbridge Wells
The Mollusc by Hubert Henry Davies	January 1909	Brighton Alhambra
The Mollusc by Hubert Henry Davies	6 May 1909	The Kingsway Theatre, London
The Mollusc by Hubert Henry Davies		Midhusrt Sanatorium
The Mollusc by Hubert Henry Davies	26 January 1909	The Cordes Hall, Sunninghill
The Marriage of Kitty adapted by Cosmo Gordon-Lennox	11 February 1910	Brighton Alhambra	King Edward VII present
The Marriage of Kitty adapted by Cosmo Gordon-Lennox		Chichester Corn Exchange
The Marriage of Kitty adapted by Cosmo Gordon-Lennox	18 February 1910	Portsmouth Theatre Royal
The Marriage of Kitty adapted by Cosmo Gordon-Lennox		Ealing Hippodrome?