In the same defiant spirit, Edy created a home life that embodied her own values. She shared a home with writer and translator Christopher St John from 1899. In 1916 the artist Tony (Clare) Atwood joined them and they lived in a ménage à trois for many years, each supporting the others in their relationship and their creative endeavours. They were part of a lesbian network who were drawn to Smallhythe as a place that offered freedom of expression in art, gender and sexuality.
A network of women
Smallhythe was visited by many other queer women, such as Virginia Woolf, and her lover Vita Sackville-West, who lived at nearby at Sissinghurst. Chris St John, like many women, was quickly mesmerised by Vita, and recorded her intense feelings in her diary.
The Barn Theatre