Sutton House is a Grade II* listed Tudor

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, i ...

High Street, in Hackney and is in London Borough of Hackney,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

History

Originally known as Bryck Place, Sutton House was built in 1535 by Sir Ralph Sadler, Principal Secretary of State to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, and is the oldest residential building in Hackney. It is a rare example of a red brick building from the

Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...

. Here, in 1569, Sadler entertained the Scottish diplomats

William Maitland of Lethington William Maitland of Lethington (15259 June 1573) was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of poet Richard Maitland. Life He was educated at the University of St Andrews. William was the renowned "Secretary Lethington" to ...

and

Robert Pitcairn Robert Pitcairn (May 6, 1836 – July 25, 1909) was a Scottish-American railroad executive who headed the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 19th century. He was the brother of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (now P ...

during the negotiations with

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. Sutton House became home to a succession of merchants, sea captains,

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

silk-weavers, Victorian schoolmistresses and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

clergy. The frontage was modified in the Georgian period, but the core remains an essentially Tudor building. Oak panelled rooms, including a rare '

linen fold Linenfold (or linen fold) is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate wood panelling with a design "imitating window tracery", "imitating folded linen" or "stiffly imitating folded material". Originally from Flanders, the style became ...

' room, Tudor windows and carved fireplaces survive intact, and an exhibition tells the history of the house and its former occupants. Great Chamber at Sutton House

At the turn of the 18th century, Hackney was renowned for its many schools, and Sutton House contained a boys' school, with headmaster Dr Burnet, which was attended in 1818 by the novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The building next became ''Milford House girls' school''. The name is a mis-attribution to Thomas Sutton, founder of Charterhouse School, who was another notable Hackney resident, in the adjacent Tan House. This was demolished in 1806 to allow for the extension of Sutton Place, a terrace of 16 Georgian Houses (Grade II listed). Sutton House was bought by the National Trust in the 1930s with the proceeds of a bequest. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

it was used as a centre for Fire Wardens, who kept watch from the roof. From the 1960s it was rented by the ASTMS Union, led by its charismatic general secretary Clive Jenkins. When the union left in the early 1980s, the house fell into disrepair. The house is the oldest surviving domestic building in Hackney. It is the second oldest in East London, Bromley Hall, a much modified house of the Tudor period, which survives next to the Blackwall Tunnel approach road, being slightly older; the latter is not open to the public.

Rescue

In the mid-1980s the building was squatted and used as a music venue and social centre, known as the ''Blue House'' (a decorated wall from this time is preserved within the current museum). After the squatters were evicted the building's condition continued to decline. The Sutton House Society, originally known as the ''Save Sutton House Campaign'', which was formed in March 1987, then began a campaign to rescue the building and open it to the public. Renovations were completed in 1991. The building remains in use as a museum, as well as housing a café, an art gallery and a book and gift shop. There is an active schools education programme at the house, together with other community programmes. Sutton House was short-listed for the 2004 Gulbenkian Prize. It is registered for the conduct of marriages.https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/sutton-house-and-breakers-yard/venue-hire-at-sutton-house-and-breakers-yard The restoration was completed in 1993 and the house fully opened in 1994. The weekend of 23 and 24 June 2007 represented the 20th anniversary of the campaign to save the house, and the 500th anniversary of the birth of its commissioner, Ralph Sadleir.

Transport

The closest railway stations are Hackney Central station and Homerton station on the North London Line (part of the London Overground network). Many buses also stop in this area. The pedestrian route from Hackney Central passes St Augustine's Tower, a remnant of Hackney's Tudor Parish church.

References and notes

External links

Sutton House information at the National Trust

Sutton House Music Society

Sutton House Society

Flickr pictures tagged Sutton House
{{LB Hackney Houses completed in 1535 History of the London Borough of Hackney National Trust properties in London Grade II* listed houses in London Grade II* listed museum buildings Houses in the London Borough of Hackney Museums in the London Borough of Hackney Historic house museums in London 1535 establishments in England Hackney, London Squats in the United Kingdom Evicted squats

History

Rescue

Transport

References and notes

Further reading

External links