Sulgrave Manor

Last updated

Sulgrave Manor
Sulgrave Manor - geograph.org.uk - 162980.jpg
TypeHouse
Location Sulgrave, Northamptonshire
Coordinates 52°06′21″N1°10′57″W / 52.1058°N 1.1826°W / 52.1058; -1.1826
Built1540–1560;464 years ago (1560)
Architectural style(s) Tudor hall house
OwnerSulgrave Manor Trust
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameThe Manor House and attached Brewhouse
Designated4 February 1969
Reference no.1371865
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameWest (Right) Gatepier at entrance to Manor House
Designated4 July 1985
Reference no.1040431
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameEast (Left) Gatepier at entrance to Manor House
Designated4 July 1985
Reference no.1190936
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameManor Cottage
Designated4 February 1969
Reference no.1190899
Official nameSulgrave Manor Garden
Designated25 June 1984
Reference no.1001040
Northamptonshire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire

Sulgrave Manor is a mid-16th century Tudor hall house in Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, UK, built by Lawrence Washington, the 3rd great-grandfather of George Washington, first President of the United States.

Contents

The manor passed out of the hands of the Washington family in the 17th century and by the 19th had descended to the status of a farmhouse. In 1911, Theodore Roosevelt, a former US president, suggested a memorial to commemorate 100 years of peace between the United Kingdom and the United States, and the manor was bought for this purpose in 1914. Between 1920 and 1930 the manor was restored, and a garden was created by Reginald Blomfield. Sulgrave Manor is now administered by a trust and is a Grade I listed building.

History

The ancestors of George Washington originated in Wessyngton in the north-east of England in the 12th century after assuming tenancy of the area from the Bishop of Durham in exchange for land at Hertburn. In the 14th century they moved south, to Warton in Lancashire, and in the fifteenth, to Sulgrave in Northamptonshire. [1] Northamptonshire had been prominent in the wool trade since the Middle Ages, [2] and Lawrence Washington achieved success as a wool trader and built Sulgrave Manor between 1540 and 1560. [3] His great-grandson, also Lawrence, was born at the manor in 1602. [1] The Washingtons sold the house in the mid-17th century, and a descendant, John Washington (1631–1677), great-grandfather of George, emigrated to Virginia in 1656. [4] In the 18th century Sulgrave was tenanted to a series of farmers. The west wing was demolished circa 1780, [5] and by the early 20th century the manor was derelict. [6]

The Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve 1814, had brought an end to the British-American War of 1812. In 1911, Theodore Roosevelt suggested a permanent memorial to commemorate one hundred years of peace between the two nations. [7] Sulgrave Manor was seen as an appropriate monument and, following a fundraising campaign supported by George V, was purchased in 1914 at a cost of $42,500. [8] Additional funding for ongoing maintenance was given by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. [9] Work on the project was delayed by the First World War, but in 1920 Sir Reginald Blomfield began a reconstruction of the house, and the creation of a garden as a suitable setting. [3] Blomfield rebuilt the demolished west wing of the hall to regain the lost symmetry of the design. [10]

By the late 20th century, underfunding threatened the continuing existence of the house. [7] An endowment from the estate of the philanthropist Paul Mellon, together with other donations and National Lottery funding, provided the necessary resources to "secure the long term survival of the property". [lower-alpha 1] [8] The manor receives circa 20,000 visitors a year, many of them from the United States. [11] Bruce Bailey, Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, in their revised 2013 Northamptonshire volume of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, describe it as a "mecca for American visitors". [3]

Architecture and description

The house consists of three bays and two storeys with attics. The construction material is limestone rubble. [12] The central porch, and the east wing are original 16th century work, while the north wing dates from the 18th century, and the west wing is an early 20th century rebuilding by Blomfield. [3] The house follows the traditional hall house plan, with the fireplace in the Great Chamber being original. [10] The screen is a 20th-century Blomfield replacement. [12]

Listing designations

Historic England is the statutory body responsible for the listing of buildings in England. It uses a three-tier rating system, classifying listed buildings into three categories; Grade I, the highest grade, for buildings of “exceptional interest”, Grade II*, the next grade, for buildings of “more than special interest”, and Grade II, the lowest grade, for buildings of “special interest”. [13]

Historic England has designated the Manor House, and its attached brewhouse, as Grade I. [12] The gate piers either side of the entrance have Grade II designations, [14] [15] as has Manor Cottage. [16] The Manor House gardens are separately listed as Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ The redevelopment of the manor was not universally acclaimed; the writer Simon Jenkins decried the "George Washington theme park" approach, while acknowledging the "immaculate" quality of the restoration". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicheley Hall</span> House in Chicheley, Buckinghamshire

Chicheley Hall, Chicheley, Buckinghamshire, England is a country house built in the first quarter of the 18th century. The client was Sir John Chester, the main architect was Francis Smith of Warwick and the architectural style is Baroque. Later owners included David Beatty, 2nd Earl Beatty and the Royal Society. Chicheley Hall is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorpe Mandeville</span> Human settlement in England

Thorpe Mandeville is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The hamlet of Lower Thorpe is just north of the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulgrave</span> Human settlement in England

Sulgrave is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) north of Brackley. The village is just south of a stream that rises in the parish and flows east to join the River Tove, a tributary of the Great Ouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Blomfield</span> British architect and landscape designer

Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moreton Pinkney</span> Human settlement in England

Moreton Pinkney is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, about 7.5 miles (12 km) north of Brackley. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 371.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Dawber</span> English architect (1861–1938)

Sir Edward Guy Dawber, RA was an English architect working in the late Arts and Crafts style, whose work is particularly associated with the Cotswolds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardington</span> Human settlement in England

Wardington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Banbury. The village consists of two parts: Wardington and Upper Wardington. The village is on a stream that rises in Upper Wardington and flows north to join the River Cherwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peover Hall</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Peover Hall is a country house in the civil parish of Peover Superior, commonly known as Over Peover, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utkinton Hall</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Utkinton Hall is a country house to the southeast of the village of Utkinton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greatworth</span> Human settlement in England

Greatworth is a village in the civil parish of Greatworth and Halse about 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Brackley, West Northamptonshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlet of Halse. In 2011, the settlement had a population of 708. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nailsea Court</span> Grade I listed building in Somerset, UK

Nailsea Court in Nailsea, Somerset, England, is an English manor house dating from the 15th century. Pevsner describes the house as "historically highly instructive and interesting" and it is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culworth</span> Human settlement in England

Culworth is a village and civil parish about 7 miles (11 km) north of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. Culworth is also about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evenley</span> Human settlement in England

Evenley is a village and civil parish just over 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 571.

Hinton is a village about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south of Daventry in Northamptonshire. The village is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Woodford cum Membris, the others being the village of Woodford Halse and hamlet of West Farndon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave</span> Church in Northamptonshire, England

The Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave, is the Church of England parish church of Sulgrave, a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) north of Brackley, Northamptonshire. The present church dates largely from the 13th and 14th centuries and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hall, Kew</span> Grade II listed building in Kew, London

West Hall at West Hall Road, Kew, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a Grade II listed building dating from the end of the 17th century. It is Kew's only surviving 17th-century building apart from Kew Palace.

Freshford Manor is an early 18th century house in Freshford, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thenford House</span> Grade I listed house in South Northamptonshire, United Kingdom

Thenford House, Thenford, Northamptonshire, England is an 18th-century country house built for Michael Wodhull, the bibliophile and translator. Wodhull's architect is unknown. The style is Palladian although with earlier Carolean echoes which led Pevsner to describe it as "decidedly conservative for its date". Construction took place between 1761 and 1765. Since the 1970s, the house has been the country home of Michael Heseltine who has constructed a notable arboretum in the grounds. Thenford House is a Grade I listed building.

Ledsham is a civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The parish contains twelve listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, two are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the village of Ledsham and the surrounding countryside. Most of the listed buildings are in the village, and consist of houses and farmhouses, almshouses, a former orphanage, a former school, a church, a former vicarage with a walled garden, and a telephone kiosk. Outside the village, to the north is a former hunting lodge, and to the south are the ruins of a manor house.

Wortley is a civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The parish contains 25 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the village of Wortley and the surrounding countryside. In the parish is the country house, Wortley Hall, which is listed, together with associated structures and items in the gardens and grounds. The other listed buildings include houses and cottages, two cross bases, a church, a public house, a milestone, and three mileposts.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ancestry". National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "The borough of Northampton: Trades". British History Online. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bailey, Pevsner & Cherry 2013, pp. 599–600.
  4. ↑ "American Ancestry". National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 Historic England. "Sulgrave Manor Garden (Grade II) (1001040)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Sulgrave Manor". Historic Houses. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Sulgrave Manor". World Monuments Fund. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Sulgrave Manor - Ancestral Home of George Washington". Glessner House. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Sulgrave Manor". The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 Jenkins 2003, p. 552.
  11. ↑ Carr, Stanley (20 February 1977). "The Washington House of Sulgrave". New York Times.
  12. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Sulgrave Manor (Grade I) (1371865)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "Listed Buildings". Historic England. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  14. ↑ Historic England. "West (Right) Gatepier at the entrance to Manor House (Grade II) (1040431)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  15. ↑ Historic England. "East (Left) Gatepier at entrance to Manor House (Grade II) (1190936)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  16. ↑ Historic England. "Manor Cottage (Grade II) (1190899)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 May 2021.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.