Sulgrave Manor & Garden

23/05/2024

⭐️ HALF TERM ACTIVITIES ⭐️

We'll be running some half-term activities on Sunday 26th, Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th May.

Incorporating both the manor and garden, our Bee Trail includes a trail sheet, clipboard and pencil. Suitable for all ages, families can find bees hidden around the manor and garden. Encouraging interaction with the history of the house and the outdoor environment, the trail offers a fun and easy-going way to explore the manor and grounds.

We'll also have an outdoor games area, suitable for all ages and abilities.

All activities are included with standard ticket entry.

Book tickets here: https://sulgrave-manor-and-garden.arttickets.org.uk/sulgrave-manor/2024-03-10-sulgrave-manor-garden-2024-season-from-10-march-2024-to-29-october-2024

21/05/2024

Today is International Tea Day.

Tea first arrived in Britain via merchants dealing with China, where it originated. By the 1650s it was seen as an exotic health drink with reviving properties. It was expensive, difficult to obtain, and needed a certain level of paraphernalia to make properly.

In the mid-1600s, tea was retailing at £10 per pound (roughly £22 per kilogram), which is around £2,000 in today’s money. At that time, servants and commoners earned around £50 each year. Tea was for the rich, and was locked away in tea caddies.

It remained a drink of the rich until reduced taxation on tea made it cheaper and by the end of the 1700s, tea was the most favoured drink among the lower classes in Britain.

The blue and white china on display in the Oak Parlour room is Salopian ware, from Shropshire. Tea was first poured into bowls and then cups to allow it to cool, as it was initially taken without milk.

14/05/2024

These photos of the Northern Lights above Sulgrave Manor on 10th May were captured by one of our lovely neighbours Smaller Things

The Northern Lights are caused by atoms with electric charges. We see different colours in the sky when the various gases in the Earth's atmosphere are energised by the charged particles. Oxygen atoms glow green, while nitrogen atoms emit purple, blue and pink.

30/04/2024

On this day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York, then the seat of the United States government.

Washington's inauguration set important precedents for future presidents, including the peaceful transfer of power and the use of the inaugural address to outline the president's vision for the country.

Today, Sulgrave Manor, George Washington's ancestral home, remains a lasting symbol of shared peace between the two nations. Saved from ruin in 1914 by donors from the UK and the US, the manor focuses on cooperation and collaboration and how we can better understand each other for common benefit.

23/04/2024

Today is Saint George's Day, the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death. It coincides with the assumed birth and death dates of English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare (c.23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616 ).

The first recorded works of Shakespeare date back to the early 1590s, not long after Sulgrave Manor was built (between 1540 and 1560). Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted today.

The images show the manor, a mid-sixteenth century Tudor house built by Lawrence Washington, the third great-grandfather of George Washington.

17/04/2024

The Sulgrave shop stocks souvenirs and gifts from our local artisans, from handcrafted ceramics and textiles to locally produced honey and books penned by local authors.

We’re delighted to support our community’s talented craftspeople and showcase their creations in our shop.

Come and explore our curated collection and discover the perfect one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones (or yourself)!

15/04/2024

We are closed on Monday 15th April 2024 due to high winds. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

12/04/2024

Tulips originated from Central Asia, and were initially discovered by Western Europeans in the sixteenth century. Gaining popularity in the Netherlands, the tulip market peaked in the winter of 1636-1637, with single tulip bulbs reportedly being sold for more than ten times the annual income of a skilled craftsman.

Tulips remain beloved flowers in the Netherlands and across Europe. Our tulips are in full bloom - don't miss them!

09/04/2024

Have you seen the stained glass in the Great Hall depicting the arms of members of the Washington family?

The shields commemorate the marriages of the builder of Sulgrave, Lawrence Washington, and his second wife, Amy Pargiter, as well as those of their children.

04/04/2024

Our orchard is now in bloom with daffodils and fritillaries. Once abundant in the UK, but now increasingly rare, fritillaries grow particularly well in the local area.

A long standing favourite in our garden, fritillaries were first planted here in the 1930s. Our records include correspondence between F. Bostock and H. Clifford Smith, who devoted time to researching which plants should be planted at Suglrave, in keeping with its Tudor origins.

29/03/2024

Eaten at Easter since medieval times, Simnel cake is a fruit cake with a layer or marzipan both on top and within. It is decorated with eleven marzipan balls, each symbolising Jesus’ disciples.

In medieval times , simnel cake began life as a yeast-leavened bread, made out of the highest quality flour possible – ‘simnel’ derives from the Latin 'simila' – the whitest and finest of flours.

Later, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the bread mixture had been swapped for a pudding batter, enriched with dried fruit, spices and almonds. It would be boiled like a pudding and when cooked, it was wrapped in pastry and glazed with egg. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the pudding began to look more like what we’d recognise as a cake today.

27/03/2024

The spinet in the Oak Parlour dates from around 1710, and is the work of Thomas Hitchcock. Its folding book rest is a rare feature for an instrument of this date.

On it rests a fine copy of a music book dated from 1747 called 'Lessons From the Harpischord'. When visiting the manor, music recorded on the spinet plays in the Oak Parlour.

23/03/2024

We're looking forward to celebrating Easter here at Sulgrave Manor & Garden.

Join us on Easter weekend for egg rolling, Easter-themed family craft activities and an outdoor trail (suitable for all ages).

Easter activities are included with standard ticket entry. Book your tickets using the link in our bio. Our Easter weekend opening includes Sunday 31st March and 1st and 2nd April.

21/03/2024

Adjacent to the Great Hall, the Oak Parlour is part of the eighteenth century wing of the manor, built by John Hodges after the Washington family had left Sulgrave .

Inside its oak panelled walls, visitors can admire a blue and white Salopian teaset (c.1730) and a spinet of walnut inlaid with sycamore (c.1710).

18/03/2024

When the manor was restored, fine oak beams and a Tudor fireplace were revealed in the Great Hall. It would have been possible to sit within the open fireplace - the original oak chimney seat is on the left, with a small niche in the wall conveniently near to hold a mug of ale 🍺

The furniture in this room, including the oak refectory table in the centre, are original pieces, chosen as being typical of their period.

📸 Photography by Sharni

16/03/2024

From Sulgrave souvenirs to books, gardenware and local crafts from Green Weaver Bird and Fosse Way Honey, Mead and Beeswax Polish, our shop has something for everyone.

The manor, garden and shop are open from 10.30am - 4pm (last entry 3pm) on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays.

15/03/2024

Our visitors enter the manor through the porch. Above the doorway are the royal arms and initials ER (for Elizabeth Regina). Of these arms, little more can be seen now than the heraldic supporters - a lion and a dragon, together with a fleur-de-lys and Tudor rose.

Above these arms, near the gable, is a triangular shape with small birds either side, along with a lop-eared sheep with a falling collar and a lamb wearing an Elizabethan ruff.

In the doorway were carved the arms of the builder's family, three mullets (stars) and two bars (stripes). Not unnaturally, it has been held that here is the origin of the design of the American flag...

Entry to the manor and garden includes an introductory talk, where you'll find out more about the manor, the people who called it home and the stories that began here.

13/03/2024

Amidst the recent rain, our spring flowers are bringing a burst of colour.

We have daffodils and narcissi galore and crocuses are emerging in our orchard. Don't miss our hellebores - their flowers are normally arched to face the ground for protection but they're too pretty to miss!

05/03/2024

Our open season starts this Sunday, 10th March 🎉

Tickets include entrance to the house and gardens. We'll be serving cream tea with a twist - from lemon curd and lavender scones to chocolate scones or a mandarin jam. Of course, traditional clotted cream and strawberry jam is also available, along with bottomless pots of tea.

Book your entry ticket here: https://zurl.co/X55i

We can't wait to see you!

21/02/2024

We’re looking forward to seeing you at our Open Garden tomorrow.

We have two indoor exhibitions, and we will also be running ten minute talks on the history of the garden, our alpine house and tips for pruning roses.

We’re well stocked with tea, coffee and cake, there are gravel paths around the garden and we have umbrellas on-site - so you can enjoy the garden whatever the weather. After all, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing...

Book your FREE ticket using the link in our bio.

21/02/2024

We're looking forward to seeing you at our Open Garden tomorrow.

We have two indoor exhibitions, and we will also be running ten minute talks on the history of the garden, our alpine house and tips for pruning roses.

We're well stocked with tea, coffee and cake, there are gravel paths around the garden and we have umbrellas on-site - so you can enjoy the garden whatever the weather. After all, there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing...

Book your FREE ticket here:
https://zurl.co/wswF

08/02/2024

Are you an enthusiastic gardener with experience of horticulture in a public park or gardens, and an excellent knowledge of plants and horticultural techniques?

We currently have a vacancy to join our team - find more information here: https://zurl.co/bdgm

30/01/2024

We were delighted to host the Northamptonshire Heritage Forum for the Full Forum meeting today.

Thank you all for coming to Sulgrave, and for the interesting and inspiring discussion.

18/01/2024

Welcome to the new Sulgrave Manor & Garden page!

Due to a glitch, we've had to set up a new page, so please feel free to share this page so all of our previous followers can keep in touch with us.

We've got exciting news coming about some events this coming season - watch this space...!

18/01/2024