Ashfield in Torquay, Devon was the childhood home of Agatha Christie. She lived there from her birth until the time of her marriage, and intermittently thereafter. She reluctantly sold it in 1940; in 1962 it was demolished and replaced with a small estate of houses. A blue plaque marks the top left corner of the two-acre property which was Ashfield. Christie loved this house, and even in old age remembered it fondly. In her autobiography, she stated:
I remember, I remember the house where I was born. I go back to that always in my mind. Ashfield. How much that means. When I dream I hardly ever dream of Greenway or Winterbrook. It is always Ashfield, the old familiar setting where one’s life first functioned… How well I know every detail there: the frayed red curtain leading to the kitchen, the sunflower brass fender in the hall grate, the Turkey carpet on the stairs, the big shabby schoolroom with its dark blue and gold embossed wallpaper.[1]: p530