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Sulgrave Manor,
Sulgrave Sulgrave is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about 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. The village ...
,
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, England is a mid-16th century Tudor
hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...
built by Lawrence Washington, the great-great-great-great-grandfather of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, first
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. 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 Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, the former 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 created by
Reginald Blomfield Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856 – 27 December 1942) was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Early life and career Blomfield was born at Bow rectory in Devon, w ...
. Sulgrave Manor is now administered by a trust and is a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.


History

The ancestors of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
originated in Wessyngton in the north-east of England in the 12th century after assuming
tenancy A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...
of the area from the
Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...
in exchange for land at Hertburn. In the 14th century they moved south, to Warton in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, and in the fifteenth, to
Sulgrave Sulgrave is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about 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. The village ...
in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
. Northamptonshire had been prominent in the
wool trade Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...
since the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, and Lawrence Washington achieved success as a wool trader and built Sulgrave Manor between 1540 and 1560. His great-grandson, also
Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...
, was born at the manor in 1602. The Washingtons sold the house in the mid-17th century, and a descendent,
John Washington John Washington (1633–1677) was an English merchant who emigrated across the Atlantic Ocean and became a planter, soldier and politician in colonial Virginia. In addition to leading the local militia, and running his own plantations, Washin ...
(1631–1677), great-grandfather of George, emigrated to Virginia in 1656. In the 18th century Sulgrave was tenanted to a series of farmers. The west wing was demolished circa 1780, and by the early 20th century the manor was derelict. The
Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
, signed on Christmas Eve 1814, had brought an end of the British-American
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. In 1911,
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
suggested a permanent memorial to commemorate one hundred years of peace between the two nations. Sulgrave Manor was seen as an appropriate monument and, following a fundraising campaign supported by
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...
, was purchased in 1914 at a cost of $42,500. Additional funding for ongoing maintenance was given by the
National Society of the Colonial Dames of America The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America is an American organization composed of women who are descended from an ancestor "who came to reside in an American Colony before 1776, and whose services were rendered during the Colonial Pe ...
. Work on the project was delayed by the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, but in 1920
Sir Reginald Blomfield Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856 – 27 December 1942) was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Early life and career Blomfield was born at Bow rectory in Devon, w ...
began a reconstruction of the house, and the creation of a garden as a suitable setting. Blomfield rebuilt the demolished west wing of the hall to regain the lost symmetry of the design. By the late 20th century, underfunding threatened the continuing existence of the house. An endowment from the estate of the philanthropist
Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall ...
, together with other donations and National Lottery funding, provided the necessary resources to "secure the long term survival of the property". The manor receives circa 20,000 visitors a year, many of them from the United States. Bruce Bailey,
Bridget Cherry Bridget Cherry OBE, FSA, Hon. FRIBA (born 17 May 1941) is a British architectural historian who was series editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides from 1971 until 2002, and is the author or co-author of several volumes in the series.
and
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
, in their revised 2013 ''Northamptonshire'' volume of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, describe it as a "mecca for American visitors".


Architecture and description

The house consists of three bays and two storeys with attics. The construction material is
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary ...
. 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. The house follows the traditional
hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...
plan, with the fireplace in the Great Chamber being original. The screen is a 20th-century Blomfield replacement.


Listing designations

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...
is the statutory body with responsibility 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”. Historic England has designated the Manor House, and its attached brewhouse, as Grade I. The gate piers either side of the entrance have Grade II designations, as has Manor Cottage. The Manor House gardens are separately listed Grade II on the
Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...
.


Notes


References


Sources

* *


External links


Sulgrave Manor Trust homepage

Video tour of Sulgrave Manor produced by the Mount Vernon Estate
{{commons category Grade I listed houses Grade I listed buildings in Northamptonshire Country houses in Northamptonshire Washington family residences