Editing Sudbury Hall

{{Short description|Historic house in Derbyshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = Sudbury Hall
| status              = open
| image               = File:Sudbury Hall - north-east view.jpg
| image_size          = 300px
| caption             = The north-east façade of Sudbury Hall
| map_type            = Derbyshire
| map_alt             = Location of Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire
| map_caption         = Location of Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire
| building_type       = [[English country house]]
| architectural_style = [[Restoration style|Restoration-era]] [[English Baroque architecture|English Baroque]], [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]]
| location_town       = [[Sudbury, Derbyshire]]
| location_country    = [[United Kingdom]]
| coordinates         = {{coord|52.886338|-1.765233|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}} <!-- Ordnance survey reference is 128:SK158322 See www.nationaltrust.org.uk above -->
| start_date          = 1660 
| completion_date     = 1680
| renovation_date     = 1969-1971
| grounds_area        = 
| other_designers     = 
| ren_architect       = [[John Beresford Fowler]]
| rooms               = 
| website =  {{url|www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/the-childrens-country-house-at-sudbury|nationaltrust.org.uk}}
}}
'''Sudbury Hall''' is a [[English country house|country house]] in [[Sudbury, Derbyshire]], England. One of the country's finest [[Restoration style|Restoration]] mansions, it has [[Grade I listed building]] status,<ref name="nhle"/> and the garden is Grade II listed in Historic England's [[Register of Parks and Gardens]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1000684|desc=Sudbury Hall|access-date=1 September 2024}}</ref>

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 [[Manorialism|manor]] of Sudbury was listed in the [[Domesday Book]].

The [[Vernon family]] 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 (died 1515)|Henry Vernon]] of [[Haddon Hall]] in [[Derbyshire]].<ref name="sudburyestate">{{cite web |title=The History of The Sudbury Estate {{!}} The Home Of Sudbury Hall and The Courtyard |url=https://sudburyestate.com/sudbury-estate-history.html |website=sudburyestate.com |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528130258/https://sudburyestate.com/sudbury-estate-history.html |archive-date=28 May 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The present house at Sudbury was built shortly after the [[Stuart Restoration|restoration of King Charles II]], between 1660 and 1680 by George Vernon, grandfather of [[George Venables-Vernon, 1st Baron Vernon]].<ref name="sudburyestate" /> 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.<ref name="nt-history"/> 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.<ref name="sudburyestate" />

Sudbury Hall was leased for three years from 1840 by Queen [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Adelaide]], the widow of [[William IV]]. The east wing was added by [[George Devey]] in 1876–83.<ref name="nhle">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1273995|desc=The Hall and attached stable block|accessdate=26 November 2012}}</ref> By the late 19th century, the extent of the Sudbury Estate stretched from [[Cubley, Derbyshire|Cubley]] down to [[Marchington]] in [[Staffordshire]].<ref name="sudburyestate" />

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]]. As a result, the Sudbury estate was subject to [[Inheritance Tax (United Kingdom)|Death duties]], the taxation which had been introduced in 1894 by the [[Liberal Government 1892–95|Liberal Government]].{{Sfn|Robinson|2014|p=28}}  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.<ref name="sudburyestate" />

During [[World War II]], a [[United States Army Air Forces]] hospital was based in Sudbury Park, close to [[RAF Sudbury]]. The land was purchased by the government in 1948 and converted into [[HM Prison Sudbury]], with a housing estate for prison officers.<ref name="sudburyestate" />

===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]] to the [[National Trust]], in part payment of death duties. The remainder of the Sudbury Estate is still held by Vernon descendants.<ref name="nt-history">{{cite web |title=History of Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/the-childrens-country-house-at-sudbury/history-of-sudbury-hall |website=National Trust |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826203503/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/the-childrens-country-house-at-sudbury/history-of-sudbury-hall|archive-date=26 August 2023 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sudburyestate" />

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]] experience and humorous [[speech bubbles]] hung next to portraits.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Jessica |title=Ropes come down as National Trust lets children roam free at Sudbury Hall |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/21/national-trust-children-roam-free-sudbury-hall-country-house |website=The Guardian |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203093620/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/21/national-trust-children-roam-free-sudbury-hall-country-house |archive-date=3 February 2023 |date=21 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>  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]]" by turning her ancestral home into "a child-centred theme park".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beal |first1=James |title=Sudbury Hall turned into 'theme park' for children |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/c3c0c298-56e9-11ed-a03e-f7ac672386f7 |work=The Times |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827185348/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c3c0c298-56e9-11ed-a03e-f7ac672386f7 |archive-date=27 August 2023 |language=en |date=27 August 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |title=Family's fury as Sudbury Hall turned into children's 'theme park' |url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/national-trust-criticised-turning-sudbury-7762426 |access-date=26 August 2023 |work=DerbyshireLive |date=30 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031192130/https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/national-trust-criticised-turning-sudbury-7762426 |archive-date=31 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Beale |first1=James |last2=Toms |first2=Adam |last3=Hodgkiss |first3=Samuel |title=Ancestors [sic] accuse National Trust of turning hall into children's 'theme park' |url=https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/ancestors-accuse-national-trust-turning-7775780 |website=StaffordshireLive |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103080046/https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/ancestors-accuse-national-trust-turning-7775780 |archive-date=3 November 2022 |language=en |date=2 November 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web |title=The new 'mansion experience' is coming to Sudbury Hall |url=https://www.restoretrust.org.uk/restore-trust-issues/the-new-mansion-experience-is-coming-to-sudbury-hall |website=Restore Trust |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125232750/https://www.restoretrust.org.uk/restore-trust-issues/the-new-mansion-experience-is-coming-to-sudbury-hall |archive-date=25 November 2022}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Castle |first1=Richard |last2=Butterfield |first2=Gareth |title=Revamped National Trust museum that came under fire wins major award |url=https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/revamped-national-trust-museum-came-8448010 |access-date=27 August 2023 |work=burtonmail |date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521050602/https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/revamped-national-trust-museum-came-8448010 |archive-date=21 May 2023 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Permanent Exhibition of the Year – Museums + Heritage Awards |url=https://awards.museumsandheritage.com/awards/2023-winners/permanent-exhibition-23/ |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603115312/https://awards.museumsandheritage.com/awards/2023-winners/permanent-exhibition-23/ |archive-date=3 June 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Architecture==

Sudbury Hall dates from the [[Restoration style|Restoration era]], but George Vernon's building is based on a [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]] design, with its ornate Great Staircase and Long Gallery. Notably, the [[state rooms]] are located on the west side of the building and the [[servants' quarters]] on the east side, a traditional layout preferred by Tudor architects.<ref name="nhle"/> Architectural historian Cherry Ann Knott has suggested that the design of the hall was based on [[Crewe Hall]] in [[Cheshire]], which stands around 1.5 miles from [[Haslington Hall]], where George Vernon was born.<ref>{{Citation |author=Knott CA |title=Sudbury Hall: Crewe Hall: A close connexion |journal=[[Architectural History (journal)|Architectural History]] |volume= 44 |pages=322–331 |year=2001 |jstor= 1568761 |doi=10.2307/1568761}}</ref>

The house is a two-storey [[red brick]] building fronted with a [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] main entrance porch, with two levels of paired [[columns]], each surmounted with a [[pediment]]. The carvings above the porch were sculpted by [[William Wilson (architect)|William Wilson]].<ref name="nhle"/>

===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 (sculptor)|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]] is an ornately carved [[overmantel]] by [[Grinling Gibbons]].<ref name="nhle"/>{{sfn|Gomme|Gomme|Maguire|2008|pp=235-236}}

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.<ref name="nhle"/>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Architecture of Sudbury Hall">
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 (sculptor)|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
</gallery>

==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]], (oil on canvas, 1660).<ref>{{cite web |title=George Vernon (1635/6-1702), the Builder of Sudbury Hall 653152 |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/653152 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |publisher=National Trust |access-date=26 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Other portraits in the collection include:

*Catherine Vernon (1663-1710), one of George Vernon's wives, by [[John Riley (painter, born 1646)|John Riley]] (oil on canvas, 1681);<ref>{{cite web |last1=Trust |first1=National |title=Catherine Vernon, Mrs George Vernon (1663-1710) 653156 |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/653156 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> 
*[[Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt]], [[Archbishop of York]], by Sir [[Thomas Lawrence]] (oil on canvas, 1823);<ref>{{cite web |title=Edward Venables Vernon Harcourt (1757-1847) as Archbishop of York 653141 |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/653141 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |publisher=National Trust |access-date=26 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
*Two [[Mistress (lover)|mistresses]] of King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]: [[Nell Gwyn]] by Sir [[Peter Lely]] (oil on canvas c.1675);<ref>{{cite web |title='Nell' Eleanor Gwyn (Gwynne) (1651–1687) 653191 |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/653191 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |publisher=National Trust |language=en}}</ref> and [[Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth]], attributed to Sir [[Godfrey Kneller]] (oil on canvas 1670)<ref>{{cite web |title=Louise Renée de Penencoët de Kéroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649 – 1734) 653188 |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/653188 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |publisher=National Trust Collections |access-date=27 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
*A pair of portraits of King [[George III]] and Queen [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]] from the studio of Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]] (oil on canvas, 1779).<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen Charlotte (of Mecklenburg-Strelitz) (1744-1818) 653139 |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/653139 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |publisher=National Trust |access-date=26 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=King George III (1738–1820) 653138 |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/653138 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |publisher=National Trust |access-date=26 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px" caption="Art treasures of Sudbury Hall">
At Sudbury Hall 2023 026.jpg|[[Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt]], [[Archbishop of York]], by Sir [[Thomas Lawrence]] (1823)
File:Sudbury Hall 00 00 57 483000.jpeg|The Hon. Anne Howard, Lady Yonge (d.1775) by [[John Vanderbank]] (1737); overmantel by [[Grinling Gibbons]]
File:Sudbury Hall 00 00 54 007000.jpeg|Overmantel by [[Grinling Gibbons]] (detail)
File:Peter Lely (1618-1680) (after) - Eleanor 'Nell' Gwyn (Gwynne) (1651–1687) - 653191 - National Trust.jpg|[[Nell Gwyn]] by Peter Lely (c.1675)
File:Louise Renee Portrait with speech bubble.jpg|[[Louise de Kérouaille]], Duchess of Portsmouth, attr. Sir [[Godfrey Kneller]] (1670) with National Trust speech bubble
File:Frances Margaret Lawrance, Lady Vernon (d 1940).jpg|[[Frances Venables-Vernon, Lady Vernon|Frances Margaret Lawrance]], Lady Vernon by [[Jules Joseph Lefebvre]] (1883)
File:Sudbury Hall 00 01 11 608000.jpeg|Henry Vernon by John Riley, with National Trust speech bubble
</gallery>

==Filming location==
The house was used for the internal [[Pemberley]] scenes in [[Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV serial)|the BBC dramatisation (1995)]] of Jane Austen's ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]''. The house's centrally-positioned domed cap-house featured in the title shot of Yorkshire Television's children's programme ''[[The Book Tower]]''.

==See also==
*[[Catherine Pegge]]
*[[George John Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon]]
*[[Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire]]
*[[Listed buildings in Sudbury, Derbyshire]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book| last = Knott |first=Cherry Ann |title=GEORGE VERNON 1636–1702 '''Who built this House''' Sudbury Hall Derbyshire |date= July 2010 |isbn= 978-0-9565240-0-3 |publisher= Tun House}}
*{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=John|title=Felling the ancient oaks : how England lost its great country estates.|date=2014|publisher=Aurum Pr Ltd|location=[S.l.]|isbn=9781781313343}}
*{{cite book |last1=Gomme |first1=Andor Harvey |last2=Gomme |first2=Austin Harvey |last3=Maguire |first3=Alison |title=Design and Plan in the Country House: From Castle Donjons to Palladian Boxes |date=1 January 2008 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-12645-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9QyzoRo_c0cC&dq=Sudbury+Hall&pg=PA234 |language=en}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{official website|name=The Children’s Country House at Sudbury official website}}
* {{cite web |title=Art treasures at Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/results?Collections=7c891128fffffe074a1eb44a63df0962 |website=www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk |publisher=National Trust Collections |access-date=27 August 2023 |language=en}}

{{Derbyshire Places of interest}}


[[Category:Children's museums in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Country houses in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:National Trust properties in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Grade II listed parks and gardens in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed museum buildings]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Toy museums in England]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Controversies in England]]