 Sutton House
Looking at Sutton House today, with an endless stream of traffic hurtling along
the main road in front and surrounded by the sprawling High Street developments,
it is inconceivable that Hackney was once believed to be a countryside
retreat. But it was the 'cleaner, healthier air' that first brought
Ralph Sadlier to Hackney in the early 16th century.
As a young man Sadlier worked
for Thomas Cromwell, soon becoming his trusted right-hand man, as well
as a good friend. It was at Cromwell's home that Sadlier met his future
wife, and with Cromwell's help Sadlier purchased some 30 acres of estate
in East London where he could build a family house. In the 1530s a magnificent
red brick house was constructed in the traditional Tudor plan. Splendid
interiors displayed linenfold panelling on the walls, and several rooms
had huge carved stone fireplaces.
When he came into the King's service
in 1540, Sadlier was knighted. During the Dissolution of the monasteries,
Sir Ralph assisted Henry VIII with various missions, and his rising status
allowed him to build an even grander mansion in Hertfordshire. Having
sold his Hackney estate to a wool merchant in 1550, Sir Ralph continued
his eminent career from his new base near Ware. As an old man of 79 Sir
Ralph Sadlier performed one of his last public duties, as a judge at the
trial of Mary, Queen of Scots. He died the following year, and his splendid
tomb can be seen in Standon parish church.
Meanwhile, the Tudor house
in Hackney still called 'bryk place' remained with the wool merchant's
family for some 80 years before being purchased by an affluent London
silk merchant. Next Sutton House became a renowned ladies' boarding school. By 1743
the house had been extensively modernised and altered by John Cox, a local
builder, and then let to the first of many French Protestant families
who had fled to England to seek refuge. With a new wing added, Sutton House
was split to form two separate dwellings during the 1750s. Various tenants
occupied both houses throughout the next 150 years, including other Huguenot
families, a solicitor and Vestry Clerk, Dr Burnet's with his boarding
school for gentlemen, and Mrs Temple who opened a school for girls.
At the end of the 19th
century the houses were eventually re-joined to form St John's Church
Institute, but at the same time many of the old outbuildings on the estate
were demolished. Condemned as unsafe in the 20th century, the
building underwent a programme of extensive refurbishment during which
time some of the original stone fireplaces were exposed, a lot of the
beautiful Tudor oak panelling was revealed, and a new barn extension was
created at the back of the house. When the National Trust acquired the
site in 1938, tenants once again occupied the building, renamed Sutton House
in 1953.
Despite long periods of tenancy,
radical change of use on numerous occasions, and surviving the London
Blitz, it seems unbelievable to learn that Sutton House was actually at
its most vulnerable during the 1980s. Damage caused by years of neglect
resulted in a costly, three-year restoration project, made possible with
the help of the Sutton House Society. Today, the significance and appeal
of Sutton House is wide-ranging. Historically it depicts a complex and
fascinating account of life over the last 450 years. Architecturally it
is a unique survival from the Tudor period of a brick house in East London.
Educationally it provides a base for visitors to learn about the heritage
of Hackney. |
