Sutton House's collections
Explore the objects and works of art we care for at Sutton House on the National Trust Collections website.
History of Sutton House
- Expert curated
Sutton House is one of London’s last remaining Tudor homes. It's witnessed social and political change as rural Hackney became part of the bustling city. The building has been a family home, a school, a church institute, trade union offices and a ‘kind of community centre’, run by squatters. Today, the house still provides space for expression, understanding and creativity for local people within its walls.
What’s in a name?
The house has had many names in its 500-year history. Its current name, Sutton House, was given by the National Trust in the 1950s after Thomas Sutton (1532–1611), the founder of Charterhouse School and Almshouses, who was believed to have lived in the house. Sutton lived in Tan House which was demolished in the 19th century to make way for nearby Sutton Place.
‘The Bryk Place’
In 1534–35 this impressive, three-storey house built in brick was completed for Ralph Sadler (1507–87) and his family. Sadler was a Tudor courtier on the rise; his close connection to Thomas Cromwell propelled him to positions at the centre of court life and made him a wealthy man.
The name ‘the bryk place’ suggests it was the only brick building in the area. Brick was an unusual and expensive building material at a time when most homes were timber framed with wattle and daub panels.
Sadler features in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. On BBC Radio 4’s Bookclub from 6 October 2013, Mantel explained how she found inspiration in a visit to Sutton House:
‘I went down to the basement, and there you can see the old Tudor bricks, so small, irregular bricks and in one of them you can see the print of a dog’s paw and that means, when those bricks were drying, and Thomas More was still alive and Anne Boleyn was Queen, one morning, a dog ran over the drying bricks…and you’re right there, in the moment and it becomes real to you in a way that pictures and documents…they could never transform the moment like that.’
A quote by
Merchants and the East India Company
In 1550, Sadler sold the house to John Machell (1509–1558), a member of the Clothworker’s Company, who used the house as a country retreat. Machell’s trade in textiles made him a wealthy man and it's thought that he may have added the high-quality paneling. An influential figure, Machell was made Sheriff of London in 1556, but died in 1558 – a year before he was due to take up the post of Lord Mayor of London.
After his death, the house passed into the ownership of his wife, Jane Machell (née Luddington) (c.1489–1565) and then, his eldest son, also John Machell. The younger Machell frequently took on debts and in 1594 borrowed from Sir James Deane (c.1545–1608). Deane was a draper who in September 1599 committed £300 to a new idea: the foundation of a joint-stock company, later known as the East India Company, which would send a ship to Asia for the ‘advancement of trade of merchandise within this realm of England’.
Machell’s debt to Deane was never repaid and in 1598, Deane took possession of 'bryk place', sparking a legal battle between the two men. In 1606, Machell was arrested and imprisoned as a debtor in Southwark for six years, though his wife Ursula remained living at the house in Hackney.
On his death in 1608, Deane bequeathed ‘bryk place' to his niece, Olive Clark (1572–1624), who lived in Hampshire and was almost certainly an absentee landlord. John Machell the younger died in 1624, ‘worn out with care and grief for his great losses’, having failed despite many attempts to regain the Hackney property for his family.
In 1627, Captain John Milward bought the house. Milward was an East India Company merchant who traded in luxury goods, particularly silks. He furnished the house with silk carpets from Asia and commissioned the painted murals on the new staircase.
Hackney was a popular place for East India Company officials and their families to live. Other members of the Milward family were also involved in the Company. Milward’s older brother, Humphrey, was one of the Company’s 214 founders, which was granted a Royal Charter in 1599. His daughter, Elizabeth, married Edward, son of Sir Maurice Abbott (1565–1642), an East India Company Governor and brother of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
A collapse in silk prices led to the failure of Milward’s business and he was later brought before the Star Chamber on charges of illegally dying silk to sell on for profit. His stock, worth around £30,000 at its height, was worth just a tenth of this at his death in the early 1640s. Later in 1639, Milward transferred his estate to his son-in-law, Sir Maurice Abbott, and died soon after. Milward’s son, Thomas, continued to live in the house with his family until his death in 1655.
A centre for schooling
Hackney’s reputation for clean air made it attractive to schools and in 1657, Sarah Freeman (c.1635–1700) leased the house to establish a school for girls. The schoolgirls would have been taught embroidery and paper craft. During a restoration project in the 1980s, examples of decorative papercutting and folding from this period were found under the floorboards.
In 1751, John Cox (c.1692–1760) bought the building and divided Ivy House and Milford House, changing the façade to what we see today. Between 1816 and 1837 Milford House was a boys’ school run by Reverend Thomas Burnett and in 1837 it became Milford House girls’ school overseen by Eliza and William Temple until 1875.
St John at Hackney Church Institute
In 1891, the two halves of the building, then known as Picton House and Milford House were reunited to become the St John-at-Hackney Church Institute. Soon after this, London County Council declared the building unsafe and an extensive refurbishment, funded by public appeal, provided new facilities, including the Wenlock Barn and rooms for between 12 and 20 residents. The ‘Tute’ as it became known, provided young men with lectures, debating societies and Bible study classes.
The Robertson brothers
The National Trust bought the building in 1938 with a bequest made by William Alexander Robertson (1871–1937) in memory of his two brothers, Norman Cairns Robertson (1976–1917) and Laurance Grant Robertson (1878–1916) who were killed in action during World War I. This generosity and his brothers’ sacrifice is memorialised by the plaque on the front of the house. The bequest also paid for urgent building work.
Voluntary organisations & trade unions
As the Institute vacated in 1939, the house provided space for other groups including the Charity Organisation Society and the Mission of Help to the Suffering Poor. During World War II, the building was put to different uses: the Great Chamber was let to an air-raid precautions club as a recreation room; the Chapel was made into an air raid shelter for the residents; and the Wenlock Barn was occasionally used by the Home Guard for exercises. By 1946, ten rooms were let to five different tenants and the barn provided an additional classroom for the school.
In 1951 tenants began vacating, leaving the National Trust struggling to find suitable occupants. The Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Technicians (ASSET) approached the Trust and in 1953 they moved into the newly named Sutton House. In 1968, they merged with the Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS), making the building the headquarters of a powerful voice in the trade-union movement with around 500,000 members. When the union departed in 1981, the house was left empty, prey to thieves and falling into disrepair.
The Blue House
On 2 April 1985, a group of squatters occupied the building, announcing their intention to ‘convert it into a kind of community centre’. At this time Hackney had high levels of youth unemployment, and squats were common. The house hosted punk concerts and community activities to engage residents. While the squatters left by the end of 1985, this period left its mark. The murals they left were preserved and are still visible today.
Save Sutton House
From 1985 onwards, difficulty in finding a suitable tenant forced the National Trust to seek alternatives, including the possibility of converting the building into residences. It was during this period that the Tudor-era linenfold paneling was stolen, thankfully returned by an eagle-eyed dealer who recognised its quality. As more locals became aware of the scheme, the Save Sutton House campaign was launched, later becoming the Sutton House Society. They advocated for the building to be restored for community use. In 1989, their proposals were approved and in 1990 restoration began. The house opened to the public in 1994 with community at the heart of the scheme.
Breakers Yard
In 2005, the National Trust acquired the industrial breakers yard to the west of the house. A nod to Hackney’s industrial heritage, this space was transformed from a polluted brownfield site into a pocket park with installations paying tribute to its history, opening to the public in 2014.
Further Reading
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Belcher et al., Sutton House: A Tudor Courtier’s House in Hackney, English Heritage, 2004
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Blackburn, A., Gray M., An illustrated souvenir: Sutton House, Hackney. National Trust (Enterprises), 1992 (Revised 1997)
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War memorial register, Robertson Brothers plaque | Imperial War Musem
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War memorial register, St John At Hackney Church Institute | Imperial War Museum
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