Sutton Park

It isn't often I get to visit an historic house I have never seen before, especially one within two hours drive from home. And I really don't know why I have never been to Sutton Park before. There are a few historic houses, castles, abbeys etc. in Lincolnshire and the neighbouring counties which I haven't visited, but they tend to be those which are open only in leap years on the third Sunday in April and the second Thursday in July between the hours of 2.45 and 3.15 provided the owner isn't stricken with hereditary laryngitis and the sukebind is in flower. Sutton Park is not in this category being open a perfectly reasonable two days a week throughout the spring and summer.

It is the home of Sir Reg Sheffield who owns Normanby Hall; his parents bought the house in the 1960s when Normanby was threatened with open-cast mining and Scunthorpe Borough Council took over the running of the hall and park. You can see why they chose Sutton Park which is a charming eighteenth century country house of very reasonable and liveable size.

It was a lovely day today: the sun shone and the gardens were pretty with a promise of great beauty later in the summer, and the rooms were bright and inviting. I felt that I would love to stay in the Victorian bedroom which is particularly pretty, or sit in the boudoir with its views over the garden.

It was a guided tour which was straight-forward and informative with plenty of leaway for questions and observations. Mrs. Atkinson, the guide, was perfectly honest about what she didn't know, and directed us to David at the gate who would know all the answers. Well, he didn't know everything off-hand, but he gave me his email address so that I can ask him what I want to know where the answers are literally at his finger tips. My main questions concern the late nineteenth century Lady Sheffield whom we call Laura (from the 1891 census) and they call Priscilla - apparently she used both names without any particular favouritism which may explain why she seemed to have disappeared from the 1901 census. More research needed, and still no picture to show the children who do the Domestic Staff workshop.

One of the nice things in the grounds was being able to go right into the ice house - very dark inside, but I took a couple of flash photos which show the brickwork beautifully.

The tea room was very good, if a touch expensive.

I watched a programme about the restoration of Kew Palace this evening - surely the least pretentious and stately palace in the history of monarchy - and thought that I really would like to visit it again now the restoration is complete.