Sutton House Society Newsletter
October 2007
For all interested in the past, present and future of Sutton House
Sutton House Society Newsletter
October 2007
For all interested in the past, present and future of Sutton House
Annual
General Meeting and Advent Party
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The weekend of 23rd to 24th June will be long-remembered in the history of Sutton House, because it marked the 500th birthday of Sir Rafe Sadleir, who built the house in 1535. Members of the Sadleir family came to Sutton House from all over the world to participate in the festivities.
On the Saturday afternoon, children from
Later there was a reception for members of
the Sadleir family and invited guests in the courtyard. Mike Gray proposed a toast to Sir Ralph, Bill
Sadleir proposed a toast to the Sutton House Society, and Councillor Khan (the
Speaker of Hackney Council) proposed a toast to the National Trust. The invited guests included Meg Hillier (the
local MP) and Revd. Rob Wickham (the Rector of
This was followed by the Sutton House Society
Annual Lecture, given this year by Dr. David Starkey C.B.E., on the subject of
“Sir Ralph Sadleir and the
The Saturday ended with a Tudor Banquet, also in the Wenlock Barn, during which guests were entertained by words and music performed by Will Birch and Lissa Chapman, and the Homerton Consort.
The next day, Mike Gray and Sean Gubbins led
guided walks round the centre of Hackney, visiting the former car yard next to
Sutton House, St.-John-at-Hackney and
In the afternoon, the Sutton House Society
summer outing took place to Standon, where Sir Rafe moved to after leaving
Hackney. We saw the tombs of Sir Rafe
and his family in St. Mary’s church. 
Rob
Street showed us round the village and led a walk to Standon Lordship, Sir
Ralph’s residence, where Lord and Lady Trenchard showed us round the
gardens. The Sunday ended with a
splendid tea in St. Mary’s church, provided by the PCC.
Many thanks to everyone who was involved in organizing this weekend of events.
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Carole Mills.
Carole was one of the most important figures in the modern history of
Sutton House. She was appointed by the
National Trust as the Project Manager for the restoration in 1990, and subsequently
she became the house’s first Property Manager, when it opened to the
public. She was thus responsible for
establishing many of the innovative characteristics of the house that made it
so refreshingly different from typical National Trust properties. She remained at Sutton House until 1998, when
she moved to Cambridgeshire to become Property Manager of Anglesey Abbey,
another National Trust property.
After she retired, a few years later, she reestablished her links with
Sutton House by becoming the Secretary of the Sutton House Society. She devoted much time and effort to the
arrangements for the Sadleir Quincentenary, and it was a great pity that she
became ill just a few days before the weekend and so was unable to attend any
of the events. Her illness was diagnosed
as untreatable cancer, and she died two months later on 30th August.
Julia Lafferty, the first Secretary
of the Sutton House Society, writes:
It is with great sadness that we have to
announce the untimely death of Carole Mills, the first Project Manager at
Sutton House. Latterly she had served as Secretary of the Sutton House Society
following the resignation of the previous incumbent in 2006. Most recently, as
a member of the organizing committee of this year’s Sadleir Quincentenary Weekend,
she played a key role in the success of that event. We were so sorry that she
was not well enough to attend the Weekend to witness the enjoyment of those
many members of the Sadleir family worldwide who had travelled from far and
wide to be present.
Carole took over as Project Manager at an
early and crucial stage in the restoration of Sutton House. She faced the
daunting task of translating into reality the vision that the original members
of the Save Sutton House Campaign (the forerunner of the Sutton House Society)
had cherished for the House. Her achievements as Project Manager were a tribute
to her managerial and organizational skills, combined with her unfailing warmth
and good humour, and the sensitivity which she showed to the aspirations of the
local community.
Perhaps only in retrospect has it become clear just how fortunate we were that Carole was the person appointed to take the Sutton House Community Scheme forward as the National Trust’s flagship “urban project”. The enduring success of Sutton House is the legacy that she has left us through her dedication and commitment to the ideals which inspired those who had campaigned so hard to save the House from the dereliction which had befallen it in the 1980s.
Her many friends in the Society will miss
her very much, and our deep sympathy and condolences go to her family and
to her partner Mike Gray.
Sadly,
Carole’s death is not the only one that we have to report. Grace Bryan-Brown, who was a member of the
Sutton House Society committee from its earliest days and a volunteer at the
house for many years, died on 21st July.
Siân Harrington, who was the house’s
third Property Manager, writes:
Grace was one of Sutton House’s longest-serving volunteers until she became too unwell to continue in 2003. She was able to put her creative skills to a great variety of uses at the property, writing signs for the rooms, making theatre backdrops and props for children’s performances and events, and templates for colouring-in activities. Her 3-D models of Sutton House and Hackney in the Tudor period brought the property to life for all visitors and are still used at the property for school workshops. She always did her bit to support us at Sutton House, often working late into the night to prepare something ready for an event. She loved being busy with her mind and her hands, and our hearts went out to her when she found this more and more difficult. We greatly missed her great work and having her around at the property.
Lissa Chapman writes:
Grace Bryan-Brown, who died in July, was involved in the campaign to save Sutton House from its earliest days. My own first memory of her is of a diminutive and slightly harassed figure, flanked by Stan Piesse and Ken Jacobs, handing out leaflets and receipts from behind a trestle table in the dilapidated and grubby room that was to become the Georgian Parlour. But the air of anxiety was misleading: it was just that she loathed administration, yet had taken on the role of Membership Secretary of the new Sutton House Society (whose records she kept with care for several years).
Grace’s formidable talents lay in other areas. Now retired from her career as a designer with the B.B.C., her artistic gifts, her energy and her perfectionism were at the disposal of Sutton House. During the fundraising campaign she helped plan and stage many events. Perhaps most memorably of all, the Great Chamber (then without its panelling and with its ceiling held up by metal supports) was transformed with exquisite heraldic banners of Grace’s making, vast quantities of fresh flowers and almost frighteningly authentic food to celebrate Henry VIII’s 500th birthday. But she would turn a capable and painstaking hand to almost anything, from a scale model of Sutton House to a “no smoking” sign. Everything she produced was of an immaculate quality.
In the 1990s Sutton House was a busy, sociable and occasionally chaotic place. Grace thrived on all this. Always elegantly turned out, with a taste for lively company and gin and tonic, and no disposition to suffer fools at all, she was an indispensable and delightful part of life there. Her 80th birthday party in the now-restored Great Chamber in January 2001 brought together her beloved nephews and nieces, her B.B.C. colleagues, her Hackney friends and others from all over the world; she was to be with us another two years before her health began to fail.
Some of Grace’s work still remains in Sutton House, in books and elsewhere; and for everyone who knew and valued her, she leaves the memory of a precious and irreplaceable friend.
The Society’s Annual General Meeting will take place in the Great Chamber on Thursday 29th November, starting at 7:30pm. All members of the Society are urged to attend. This is your main opportunity for hearing what the Society has been up to during the past year, and for discussing its plans for next year. It will include the appointment and reappointment of officers and members of the committee. If you would like to join the committee you would be very welcome.
After the AGM, there will be a pre-Christmas party in the Great Chamber, to which all members of the Society are warmly invited. This will include an exhibition of photographs and children’s art from the Sadleir Quincentenary weekend.
We were very sad to say goodbye to Deborah
Hudson, who resigned as Custodian of Sutton House last summer. She has gone back to her native
We are now very pleased to welcome
Hello there! I am delighted to introduce myself as the new Custodian of Sutton House. I have been in post since late July and have been thoroughly enjoying my role here.
While I am new to this property I have been with the National Trust variously as a volunteer and member of staff since the age of 15 working in conservation, events and house management.
I started with the National Trust in my native
I have had an absolutely outstanding welcome from everyone at the property not to mention the Sutton House Society itself which has also accepted me as their new Secretary. I look forward to working closely with the Sutton House Society to help and facilitate the fascinating and valuable work that they do.
I have met quite a few members of the Sutton House Society already but if I haven’t crossed paths with you yet please feel free to pop in and say hello or get in touch. Naomi.hutchinson@nationaltrust.org.uk
We are especially grateful to Naomi for agreeing to be the Society’s new Secretary, and we hope that she will enjoy many happy years at Sutton House.
The shop at Sutton House has just received its first consignment of festive goods in several years, including a stunning array of National Trust Christmas cards and great-value 2008 diaries and calendars. There are also some fabulous selections of shortbread and delicious chocolate-covered marzipan. I am trying to increase local awareness of the shop and make it a more profitable enterprise, so please do drop in if you are passing by and do let friends and family know that it is restocked with lots of lovely things. If you do have any ideas for improving the shop please let me know!
The Fair is taking place from noon to 5pm on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd December, with a wide array of stall-holders. There will be live appearances from Ye Medieval Baebes, who will perform some festive roundels. Some local Morris dancers will also be in attendance, so why not work off those mince pies with a bit of jig! If you are after some unique Christmas gifts or just some good old-fashioned festive fun, the Fair is the perfect place to come and enjoy Sutton House decorated beautifully for the season. Admission is £2 for adults and free for children.
We are also delighted to welcome another appointment to the Sutton House staff: Christopher Cleeve, who is the new Learning Officer. He writes:
It is my great pleasure to introduce myself as the
new Learning Officer at Sutton House. I
have already worked for the National Trust at
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