Sulgrave
Encyclopedia
Sulgrave is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire
, England
, about 5 miles (8 km) north of Brackley
.
parish Church of St James the Less
is part of the benefice of Culworth
with Sulgrave and Thorpe Mandeville
and Chipping Warden
with Edgcote
and Moreton Pinkney
.
By the church are the earthwork remains of a Norman ringwork
castle.
. Washington Old Hall
in Washington
, Sunderland
is the original ancestral home of the Washington family and was occupied by the family from 12th century to 1539. There is also an area of Washington, close to Washington Old Hall, named Sulgrave. Sulgrave Manor has a road named after it: Sulgrave Court, situated in a housing district of Milton Keynes
called Great Holm.
Leaving Wharton
, Lancashire
(now Cheshire
), to which the family had spread in the 14th century, Lawrence Washington bought the Priory of St. Andrew, Northampton, from the Crown in 1539, following Henry VIII
's Dissolution of the Monasteries
and turned it into Sulgrave Manor.
The house was built of local limestone, with a wide south frontage, a kitchen and buttery, a Great Hall
, and above it a Great Chamber and two smaller private chambers. All these parts survive and can be seen today. Finds of what appear to have been Tudor period
foundation stones as much as 50 ft (15.2 m) west of the current house suggest that the original dwelling was considerably larger than the surviving house. The Great Hall has a stone floor, and its Tudor fireplace contains a salt cupboard carved with the initials of Lawrence Washington.
The Washingtons held it for over one hundred years.
: two bars and three mullets, or spur-rowels.
, the Star Inn, that belongs to the Hook Norton Brewery
.
Sulgrave Village Shop Association Limited (SVS) was incorporated in July 2004 as an Industrial and Provident Society
, owned by the residents of Sulgrave, with the object of operating a shop and Post Office. Under its constitution, profits are not for distribution to its members but must be reinvested in the enterprise for the continuation and development of its services to the community. The shop began trading in September 2004 under the direction of a management board employing a full time shop manager and supported by some 50 volunteers. As part of a newly established Rural Enterprise Network, SVS, by selling locally grown and sourced products, seeks to provide a focus for other producers and suppliers to develop and expand locally-based businesses.
South Northamptonshire
South Northamptonshire is a local government district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council is based in Towcester.The district is rural and sparsely populated with just over 79,293 people in 2000 and 91,000 in 2008, a 14.8% increase. The largest town in the district is Brackley, which has a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about 5 miles (8 km) north of Brackley
Brackley
Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Oxford and miles form Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham and the English Midlands and between Cambridge and Oxford...
.
Parish church
The Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish Church of St James the Less
Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave
The Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave, is an active Anglican church in the village of Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, England. It is a parish church in the deanery of Brackley, the archdeaconry of Northampton, and the diocese of Peterborough...
is part of the benefice of Culworth
Culworth
Culworth is a village and civil parish about north of Brackley in South Northamptonshire, England. Culworth is also about northeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury....
with Sulgrave and Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The hamlet of Lower Thorpe lies just north of the village....
and Chipping Warden
Chipping Warden
Chipping Warden is a village in Northamptonshire, England about northeast of the Oxfordshire town of Banbury. The parish is bounded to the east and south by the River Cherwell, to the west by the boundary with Oxfordshire and to the north by field boundaries....
with Edgcote
Edgcote
Edgcote is a village and civil parish on the River Cherwell in south-west Northamptonshire. The parish is bounded by the river to the north and by one of its tributaries to the east...
and Moreton Pinkney
Moreton Pinkney
Moreton Pinkney is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, about north of Brackley.-Parish church:The earliest evidence of Christianity in the parish is a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon stone cross in the churchyard of the Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin...
.
By the church are the earthwork remains of a Norman ringwork
Ringwork
A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles minus the motte...
castle.
Sulgrave Manor
Sulgrave Manor, near the village, is famous for having been the home of the ancestors of George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. Washington Old Hall
Washington Old Hall
Washington Old Hall is a manor house located in the Washington area of Tyne and Wear. It lies in the centre of Washington, being surrounded by other villages....
in Washington
Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...
, Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
is the original ancestral home of the Washington family and was occupied by the family from 12th century to 1539. There is also an area of Washington, close to Washington Old Hall, named Sulgrave. Sulgrave Manor has a road named after it: Sulgrave Court, situated in a housing district of Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
called Great Holm.
The original building
Wharton
-Academic institutions:*Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania*Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University-Places:*Wharton, Cheshire, England*Wharton, Cumbria, England*Wharton, New Jersey*Wharton, Ohio*Wharton, Texas...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
(now Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
), to which the family had spread in the 14th century, Lawrence Washington bought the Priory of St. Andrew, Northampton, from the Crown in 1539, following Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
and turned it into Sulgrave Manor.
The house was built of local limestone, with a wide south frontage, a kitchen and buttery, a Great Hall
Great Hall
Great Hall may refer to* Great hall, the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or large manor house* Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Beijing* Great Hall of the University of Sydney, Australia* Cooper_Union#The_Great_Hall, New York...
, and above it a Great Chamber and two smaller private chambers. All these parts survive and can be seen today. Finds of what appear to have been Tudor period
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
foundation stones as much as 50 ft (15.2 m) west of the current house suggest that the original dwelling was considerably larger than the surviving house. The Great Hall has a stone floor, and its Tudor fireplace contains a salt cupboard carved with the initials of Lawrence Washington.
The Washingtons held it for over one hundred years.
'ER' and stars and stripes
Lawrence added an entrance porch to the house's south front after 1558. Over the doorway set in plaster the royal arms of England and the letters 'ER', to indicate 'Elizabeth Regina' in honour of Henry VIII's daughter Elizabeth I, who had ascended to the throne. The doorway spandrels were decorated with the Washington family armsCoat of arms of George Washington
The coat of arms of George Washington, President of the United States of America from 1789 to 1797, were first used to identify the family in the twelfth century, when one of George Washington's ancestors took possession of Washington Old Hall, then in County Durham, in North East England.The...
: two bars and three mullets, or spur-rowels.
Later alterations
A north wing, set at right angles to Lawrence Washington's manor, was added circa 1700 by then owner, John Hodges. It contains the Great Kitchen and the Oak Parlour, on the ground floor, beneath two sleeping chambers, now known as the White Bedroom and the Chintz Bedroom. Another extension, the west wing, was built in 1929 when the house was being restored.Village amenities
Sulgrave has a 300 year old public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, the Star Inn, that belongs to the Hook Norton Brewery
Hook Norton Brewery
Hook Norton Brewery is a regional brewery in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England, founded in 1849. The brewing plant is a traditional Victorian "tower" brewery in which all the stages of the brewing process flow logically from floor to floor; mashing at the top, boiling in the middle, fermentation...
.
Sulgrave Village Shop Association Limited (SVS) was incorporated in July 2004 as an Industrial and Provident Society
Industrial and Provident Society
An industrial and provident society is a legal entity for a trading business or voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand...
, owned by the residents of Sulgrave, with the object of operating a shop and Post Office. Under its constitution, profits are not for distribution to its members but must be reinvested in the enterprise for the continuation and development of its services to the community. The shop began trading in September 2004 under the direction of a management board employing a full time shop manager and supported by some 50 volunteers. As part of a newly established Rural Enterprise Network, SVS, by selling locally grown and sourced products, seeks to provide a focus for other producers and suppliers to develop and expand locally-based businesses.