Sutton Park is an 18th-century Georgian

English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

situated on the edge of the village of Sutton-on-the-Forest,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. It is approximately 10 miles north of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, in the ancient

Forest of Galtres The royal Forest of Galtres was established by the Norman kings of England in North Yorkshire, to the north of the Ancient City of York, extending right to its very walls. The main settlement within the royal forest was the market village of Easi ...

. The house, a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, is open to the public for part of the year. It is the residence of

Sir Reginald Sheffield, 8th Baronet Sir Reginald Adrian Berkeley Sheffield, 8th Baronet DL (born 9 May 1946) is a British baronet and father of Samantha Cameron, who is the wife of a former British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, David Cameron. He was educated at Eton Col ...

(father of

Samantha Cameron Samantha Gwendoline Cameron, Baroness Cameron of Chipping Norton (; born 18 April 1971), is an English businesswoman. Until 2010, she was the creative director of Smythson of Bond Street. She is married to David Cameron, who served as Prime ...

, wife of the former Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

), and Lady Sheffield. It was a filming location for the house of

Ann Walker Ann Walker (20 May 1803 – 25 February 1854) was an Englishwoman, married in Britain's first known lesbian wedding, to diarist and fellow Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister. Their union was solemnised by taking the sacrament together on East ...

in the BBC television series '' Gentleman Jack''.

History

The house was built in 1730. It was altered by Thomas Atkinson for Phillip Harland, who inherited the property in 1750. It has early Georgian architecture and magnificent plasterwork by Cortese. The house was purchased by the Sheffield family in 1963 when they relocated themselves and pieces of art and furniture from

Normanby Hall Normanby Hall is a classic English mansion, located near the village of Burton-upon-Stather, north of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. History The present hall was built in 1825–30 to the designs of Robert Smirke for Sir Robert Sheffi ...

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...

, their historic

family seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...

Exterior

Sutton Park is of red brick and is styled as a

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

. The main central building is flanked by two wings: on each side, a set of colonnades joins a smaller structure to the central house. Venetian-style windows in the wings look out upon the house's gardens.

Interior

Ornate

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

features throughout the house. Designed by Giuseppe Cortese, this use of plasterwork is especially prominent in the entrance hall, where the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style predominates, and in the library, where the plasterwork illustrates fruit themes. In March 2015, unpublished photographs from the

City of Leeds Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...

archives revealed that the panelling and mantelpiece in the study of Sutton Park had been imported from the Morning Room of Potternewton Hall, in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, which was the ancestral estate of Olive Middleton, great-grandmother of

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew ...

. The panelling and mantelpiece in the former Middleton room were designed by

Henry Flitcroft Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a humble background; his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court. Flitcroft began his career a ...

in the 1720s.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 54.07368, -1.11030, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Houses completed in 1730 Country houses in North Yorkshire Grade I listed houses in North Yorkshire Gardens in North Yorkshire Historic house museums in North Yorkshire

History

Exterior

Interior

See also

References

External links