WAVERING DOWN HOUSE
Carry On Star Frankie Howerd OBE may have left the stage but his spirit lives on at Wavering Down House in the village of Cross, near Cheddar, in Somerset. The house has remained virtually unchanged since his death in 1992.
The comedian adored his country house – painted a glorious pink and set in rambling grounds at the foot of the Mendip Hills. His lifelong manager and partner, Dennis Heymer, still lives at the Edwardian villa – surrounded by memories and more than 4,000 items of showbiz memorabilia.
The first thing you come across in the drawing room is the chaise longue where Elizabeth Taylor used to kick off her shoes and have a rest. Her ex, Richard Burton, was one of Frankie’s drinking partners. Two stone cats were a gift from Sir Laurence Olivier and a cabinet displays a fossilised egg from AD79, the year of Vesuvius, given to Frankie by the Italians as a thank-you for boosting tourism with Up Pompeii.
Over the mantelpiece hangs a likeness of the comic commissioned by the Queen Mother (a fan since they met at a Royal Variety Performance) because, she declared: “Every great man should have his portrait painted.”
And you can just imagine his Hollywood confidante Bette Davis rummaging around the boudoir, dispensing advice on how best to look after Frankie’s notoriously dreadful collection of wigs.
Trust chairman Chris Byrne first met the comic genius and his manager in a pub nearly 20 years ago. After Frankie died from a heart attack on Easter Sunday, 1992, he moved in to nurse Dennis.
“Dennis looked after Frankie,” says Chris, founder and owner of the Wavering Down Estate. “He was his partner, manager, chauffeur and dresser. They were together for nearly 40 years, 24 hours a day. But only a handful of people knew they were partners.”
As one of the most alternative comedians of his day, Frankie had a rollercoaster career. But the star, whose trademark was to roll his eyes and make satirical asides to the audience, was king of the comeback.
His career lasted almost 50 years and TV sitcoms such as Up Pompeii (inspired by his West End run in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum) attracted an audience of millions. Catchphrases such as ‘Oh, please yourselves’ and ‘Oooh er, missus’ became a part of the national vocabulary – and Frankie’s name is still in the headlines after Chris and Dennis decided to open Wavering Down House to the public.
“Frankie bought the house for £19,000 in 1970 because a friend said a big international star ought to have a country residence,” says Chris. “This was his favourite home and a haven for the stars.”
After garden open days and concerts raised more than £75,000 to help those in need, The Frankie Howerd OBE Trust was set up as a registered charity to carry on the good work.
Visitors who flock to Wavering Down House are often surprised to find a home rather than a museum – thanks partly to the fact that Frankie was a hoarder who never threw anything away. Each room has a tale to tell – from the story behind a portrait of the Princes in the Tower (another gift from the Queen Mother) to how Lord Kitchener’s letters came to be discovered in Frankie’s desk drawer.
Thousands of personal belongings (even down to the comic’s infamous toupee) are scattered about the rooms, giving the impression that Frankie has just popped out for a moment.
“He even kept his old laundry lists, including one bill for the cleaning of 35 shirts. It wasn’t that he was a messy eater – he just loved lots of gravy,” says Chris with a chuckle. “He and Dennis were a couple of real bachelors. They would sit in front of the gas fire in their big top coats with two shepherd’s pies in foil trays and a tin of baked beans, so there was no washing-up to do.”
Frankie and Dennis first met at the Dorchester Hotel in London’s Park Lane in 1955. Dennis was a sommelier and Frankie had come in for supper with Sir John and Mary Mills. Despite their long partnership, the couple didn’t always see eye to eye. A much-glued Chinese bowl on the dining table is covered in cracks. “They used to throw it at each other,” says Chris.
“The Queen Mother once told them: ‘When you two queens have finished arguing, this old queen would like her Dubonnet’. She loved Frankie’s sense of humour but always had more of a giggle with Dennis.”
Frankie was buried at St Gregory’s Church in the Somerset village of Weare, where he used to pop in to rehearse his lines, addressing the empty pews as if he was at the London Palladium. He now lies beneath a pink headstone with gilt lettering in a grave planted with gladioli – but The Frankie Howerd OBE Trust aims to keep his memory very much alive with its support for good causes.
Spearheading the charity is also a way for Dennis Heymer to finally step out of Frankie’s shadow into the spotlight. Says Chris: “Frankie was the star but Dennis was the man everyone liked and admired. June Whitfield, who has kindly agreed to be a patron of The Frankie Howerd OBE Trust, still comes to stay. I let her have my room and take her up a nice cup of tea in the morning.
“Sir Ian McKellen and Richard Wilson have also been to visit – and David Walliams and Rafe Spall stayed here when they played Frankie and Dennis in a TV drama. It’s like a holiday retreat for the stars!”
