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1856: Frederick Goodall bought 170 acres of the land on which Grim’s Dyke now stands
1870: Building work began, overseen by the famous architect Norman Shaw
1872: Grim’s Dyke was completed and the Goodall family took up residence.
1880: The Goodalls sold Grim’s Dyke to Robert Heriot of Hambros Bank who lived here for 10 years
1890: Grim’s Dyke was bought by Sir William and Lady Gilbert
1899: Work began on Gilbert’s boating lake, a 1.5 acre stretch of water where he used to bathe every day
1905 – The lake was extended to form a large rectangle roughly 170 yards long by 50 yards wide
1906: Gilbert helped found Grimsdyke Golf Club where he was President
1911: Gilbert died on May 29th trying to rescue a local girl, Ruby Preece, who had got into difficulties swimming
1929: On one of her rare public appearances, Lady Gilbert attends the re-opening of the Savoy Theatre
1936: Lady Gilbert died, having spent her final years doing local charity work
1937: A public auction of the house realised £4600
1937: Grim’s Dyke became a rehabilitation centre for women suffering from tuberculosis
1939-1945: Officially, whatever role Grim’s Dyke played in the war is classified and not due for release until the 2040s
1945: Re-opened as a rehabilitation centre for men suffering from tuberculosis
1963: The rehabilitation centre was closed down and Grim’s Dyke entered a period of decline, during which time it was used as a film and television set
1967: The Champions was filmed here, as were several episodes of Dr Who during his battles with the Daleks
1968: Boris Karloff starred in his last film, The Curse of the Crimson Altar
1969: Vincent Price made his 100th film, The Cry of the Banshee. Ronnie Barker also used the house and grounds to shoot one of his comedies, Futtocks End
1998: Grim’s Dyke was formally re-opened by the Rt. Hon. Kenneth Clarke, Chancellor of the Exchequer
We have compiled a brief summary of the life of WS Gilbert which you can read by clicking on the link below.
The W.S. Gilbert Society have their own web page. They are based at 52 High Street, Buntingford, Hertfordshire SG9 9AH and plan to publish two issues of a WS Gilbert Journal each year.
WSGilbert.com This site is run by Charles Pemberton, who regularly puts on one-man shows about Gilbert's life under the title "A Disagreeable Man?"
There is also a Short Biography of WS Gilbert available in the Gilbert & Sullivan Archive. It mentions his kidnapping at the age of two and ends with his death in 1911, when at the age of 74 he was attempting to save a drowning woman.
The Babliophile, billed as an Internet magazine for the 'seriously deranged' W.S.Gilbert enthusiast. The magazine is created and maintained by Andrew Crowther.
Finally, and also by Andrew Crowther, is a Guide to Books about Gilbert which provides a very comprehensive reference complete with ISBN numbers.
