Sudbury Hall is a

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 ...

Sudbury, Derbyshire Sudbury is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, located about south of Ashbourne. It is part of the Derbyshire Dales district. The population as recorded at the 2001 Census was 976, increasing to 1,010 at the 2011 Census. The £0. ...

, England. One of the country's finest Restoration mansions, it has

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 ...

status, and the garden is Grade II listed in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. The National Trust Museum of Childhood is housed in the 19th-century servants' wing of Sudbury Hall.

History

In 1086, following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, the manor of Sudbury was listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. The

Vernon family The Vernon family was a wealthy, prolific and widespread English family with 11th-century origins in Vernon, Normandy, France. Their extant titles include Baron Vernon and Vernon baronets of Shotwick Park. Vernon of Shipbrook, Cheshire William ...

came to Sudbury as a result of the 16th-century marriage of the Sudbury heiress Ellen Montgomery to Sir John Vernon (d.1545), a son of Sir Henry Vernon of

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Duke of Rutland, Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rut ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. The present house at Sudbury was built shortly after the restoration of King Charles II, between 1660 and 1680 by George Vernon, grandfather of George Venables-Vernon, 1st Baron Vernon. George Vernon used his new-found wealth from marrying Northamptonshire heiress Margaret Onley to build a grand new mansion on the site of a smaller house. He kept meticulous accounts of the building project, and because there is no record of any payment to an architect, historians surmise that George designed Sudbury Hall himself. George Vernon also established the Estate village close to the Hall to provide housing for his servants, labourers and tradesmen. The buildings in the village still survive intact today. Sudbury Hall was leased for three years from 1840 by Queen

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, the widow of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. The east wing was added by

George Devey George Devey (1820, London – 1886, Hastings, Sussex) was an English architect notable for his work on country houses and their estates, especially those belonging to the Rothschild family. The second son of Frederick and Ann Devey, he was bo ...

in 1876–83. By the late 19th century, the extent of the Sudbury Estate stretched from Cubley down to Marchington in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. In 1916, George Venables-Vernon, 8th Baron Vernon, died aged 26 in Malta from an illness contracted while in service as an officer in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. As a result, the Sudbury estate was subject to

Death duties International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and prop ...

, the taxation which had been introduced in 1894 by the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

. As with many other large estates across Britain, this increased financial burden compelled Francis Venables-Vernon, 9th Baron Vernon, to sell off tracts of land and some of the contents of Sudbury Hall. In the 1930s and 1940s, the 9th Lord was able to buy back some of this land to provide social housing in Sudbury village. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

hospital was based in Sudbury Park, close to

RAF Sudbury Royal Air Force Sudbury or more simply RAF Sudbury is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located north-east of Sudbury, Suffolk, Sudbury, Suffolk, England. History USAAF use RAF Sudbury was opened in 1 ...

. The land was purchased by the government in 1948 and converted into HM Prison Sudbury, with a housing estate for prison officers.

National Trust

Death duties continued to burden the Vernon family, and in 1967, Sudbury Hall and its principal contents along with part of the gardens and parkland, was transferred by John Venables-Vernon, 10th Baron Vernon via the

National Land Fund The National Land Fund of the United Kingdom was a sum of money held by HM Treasury for the purpose of securing culturally significant property for the nation as a memorial to the dead of World War II. It was created in 1946. Proposed by Chancel ...

to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, in part payment of death duties. The remainder of the Sudbury Estate is still held by Vernon descendants. In 2020 Sudbury Hall closed to the public for renovations, during which the National Trust consulted 100 child "ambassadors" to redesign the visitor experience for children. It reopened in October 2022, rebranded as ''The Children’s Country House at Sudbury'', equipped with a dressing up and dancing area, a mirror ball, a neon sign with the words "Party like it’s 1699", an

escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limit ...

experience and humorous

speech bubbles Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a charac ...

hung next to portraits. The revised visitor experience has been criticised by the Vernon Family; Joanna FitzAlan Howard, daughter of the 10th Baron Vernon accused the National Trust of "

dumbing down Dumbing down is the deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content in education, literature, cinema, news, video games, and culture. Originating in 1933, the term "dumbing down" was movie-business slang, used by screenplay writers, meanin ...

" by turning her ancestral home into "a child-centred theme park". The National Trust have stated that the new experience offers "new ways for children to learn about the history of Sudbury Hall" and that the speech bubbles inform children about "hidden symbolism in historic portraits". The changes have also been criticised by the pressure group Restore Trust for discouraging adult visitors unaccompanied by children, and for removing the house contents to make way for "fun active games and activities". In May 2023 the Children’s Country House at Sudbury was awarded Permanent Exhibition of the Year at the Museum and Heritage Awards 2023. Judges expressed the view that the redesign of Sudbury Hall offered a "participatory and imaginative new bold approach to interpreting historic houses and heritage".

Architecture

Sudbury Hall dates from the Restoration era, but George Vernon's building is based on a Jacobean design, with its ornate Great Staircase and Long Gallery. Notably, the

state rooms A state room or stateroom in a large European mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed for use when entertaining royalty. The term was most widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were the most lavishly ...

are located on the west side of the building and the

servants' quarters Servants' quarters, also known as staff's quarters, are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic worker, domestic offices and employee, staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the ea ...

on the east side, a traditional layout preferred by Tudor architects. Architectural historian Cherry Ann Knott has suggested that the design of the hall was based on Crewe Hall in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, which stands around 1.5 miles from Haslington Hall, where George Vernon was born. The house is a two-storey

red brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

building fronted with a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

main entrance porch, with two levels of paired

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

, each surmounted with a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

. The carvings above the porch were sculpted by William Wilson.

Interior

The interior of the house was completed in 1691. There have been a number of small alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the interior was restored 1969-1971 by John Beresford Fowler. The Great Staircase, designed by Edward Pierce, dates from c.1676 and is considered to be one of the finest Restoration staircases in Britain. It is noted for its white-painted balustrade with luxuriant, carved foliage. The landing ceiling is adorned with ornate plasterwork by Robert Bradbury and James Pettifer (1675) and ceiling paintings of mythological scenes by Louis Laguerre. Other plasterwork within the house was designed by Pettifer, Bradbury and Samuel Mansfield of Derby. Of particular note in the

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th ce ...

is an ornately carved

overmantel The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ...

Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London church ...

. Between c.1872 and 1880, architect George Devey significantly modified and extended an early 19th-century servants' east wing to Sudbury Hall; this now houses the National Trust Museum of Childhood. At Sudbury Hall 2023 084.jpg, Rear of Sudbury Hall At Sudbury Hall 2023 041.jpg, Plaster ceiling by James Pettifer (1675) Sudbury Hall 00 01 18 178000.jpeg, The Great Staircase by Edward Pierce (c.1676) Sudbury Hall 00 01 15 014000.jpeg, The Great Staircase balustrade (detail) The Long Gallery, Sudbury Hall-geograph-4669666.jpg, The Long Gallery The Saloon, Sudbury Hall-geograph-4669636.jpg, The Saloon At Sudbury Hall 2023 067.jpg, The bedroom

Art collection

Sudbury holds a large collection of portraits of Vernon family members, as well as other paintings and works of fine art. Of particular note are a portrait of George Vernon (1635/6-1702), the builder of Sudbury Hall, by

John Michael Wright John Michael Wright (May 1617 – July 1694) was an English painter, mainly of portraits in the Baroque style. Born and raised in London, Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and sometimes described himself as Scot ...

, (oil on canvas, 1660). Other portraits in the collection include: *Catherine Vernon (1663-1710), one of George Vernon's wives, by John Riley (oil on canvas, 1681); *

Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (10 October 1757 – 5 November 1847) was a Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1791 to 1807 and then the Archbishop of York until his death. He was the third son of the George Venables ...

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

, by Sir

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

(oil on canvas, 1823); *Two mistresses of King Charles II:

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne; 2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was an English people, English stage actress and celebrity figure of the Stuart Restoration, Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances ...

by Sir

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...

(oil on canvas c.1675); and

Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth (5 September 1649 – 14 November 1734) was a French mistress of King Charles II of England. She was also made Duke of Aubigny#Lennox_Dukes_of_Aubigny, Duchess of Aubigny in the p ...

, attributed to Sir

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...

(oil on canvas 1670) *A pair of portraits of King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and Queen

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her ...

from the studio of Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

(oil on canvas, 1779). At Sudbury Hall 2023 026.jpg,

, by Sir

(1823) File:Sudbury Hall 00 00 57 483000.jpeg, The Hon. Anne Howard, Lady Yonge (d.1775) by John Vanderbank (1737); overmantel by

File:Sudbury Hall 00 00 54 007000.jpeg, Overmantel by

(detail) File:Peter Lely (1618-1680) (after) - Eleanor 'Nell' Gwyn (Gwynne) (1651–1687) - 653191 - National Trust.jpg,

by Peter Lely (c.1675) File:Louise Renee Portrait with speech bubble.jpg, Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, attr. Sir

(1670) with National Trust speech bubble File:Frances Margaret Lawrance, Lady Vernon (d 1940).jpg, Frances Margaret Lawrance, Lady Vernon by

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Ar ...

(1883) File:Sudbury Hall 00 01 11 608000.jpeg, Henry Vernon by John Riley, with National Trust speech bubble

Filming location

The house was used for the internal

Pemberley Pemberley is the fictional country estate owned by Fitzwilliam Darcy, the male protagonist in Jane Austen's 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice''. It is located near the fictional town of Lambton, and believed by some to be based on Lyme Park, so ...

scenes in the BBC dramatisation (1995) of Jane Austen's ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

''. The house's centrally-positioned domed cap-house featured in the title shot of Yorkshire Television's children's programme '' The Book Tower''.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{Derbyshire Places of interest Children's museums in the United Kingdom Country houses in Derbyshire National Trust properties in Derbyshire Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire Grade II listed parks and gardens in Derbyshire Grade I listed museum buildings Historic house museums in Derbyshire Toy museums in England Tourist attractions in Derbyshire Controversies in England