More information : [SK 4418 6890] Sutton Scarsdale Hall [TI]. (1)
Sutton Hall, Sutton Scarsdale, now a ruin, was built by Smith
of Warwick in 1724. An outbuilding to the west is of 17th c. date.
(2)
Sutton Hall, c. 1740. (3)
The Hall has been derelict for many years. It has recently been purchased by SIR OSBERT SITWELL. This house, known as 'The Old Priory', is a conversion of the 17th c. out-building, formerly
a brewhouse.(4)
Sutton Scarsdale Hall is a roofless ruin of a large Palladian mansion. The interior is overgrown and collapsed floors prevented access. The earlier, former outbuilding suggests that the 1724 Hall occupies the site of an earlier house.
The Old Priory, at SK 4412 6893, is a rectangular, two-storied building with end-gables and a central gabled hip. It is built of irregularly-coursed stone with worked quoins and mullioned windows, the majority modern but those at the south end have drip-courses over them. See GPs: AO/59/367/7 - The Old Priory from the west; AO/59/367/8 - Sutton Scarsdale Hall from the north-east.
The buildings have been marked on the 25" A.M. survey. (5)
No change. (6)
Sutton Scarsdale Hal, Grade I. Country house. 1724 by Francis Smith of Warwick for Nicholas, Earl of Scarsdale. Coursed sandstone and brick faced with sandstone
ashlar. A ruin but the outer walls remain virtually intact and much of the inner walls survive. Two storeys. Nine bay east and north elevations. West elevation with two four-bay projecting wings and deeply recessed centre portion. South elevation of eleven bays built up close to the church, the centre seven bays recessed. The main front is the sumptuous nine bay east elevation with banded restication, entablature with modillion cornice and parapet. Centre three bays beneath a pediment with armorial achievement, on four Corinthian half columns. Two further bays on each side with giant Corinthian pilasters. One by angle pavilion with coupled pilasters and doorcases with segmental pediments on brackets and windows above with moulded surrounds. Plainer north front, the centre three bays advanced. Giant Corinthian pilasters between each bay and windows with moulded surrounds. Central doorway with Gibbs Surround and pediment. West front is similar but with pilasters at the angles only and instead of a complete entablature, a modillion cornice with plain aprons below. In the front hall, on the north front, are fragmentary remains of C18 plasterwork by Artari and Varsalli. Some of the interior walls of coursed sandstone may be remains of the C17 house that stood on the site. Extensive brick vaulted cellars. The interior was dismantled in c1920 and some of the rooms are preserved in the Philadelphia Museum in America.
J Carnforth The Uncertain Future of Sutton Scarsdale Country Life, vl47, pp850-851. M Jourdain Sutton Scarsdale: The Seat of Mr William Arkwright, County Life, v45, pp166-173. The Hall is also a scheduled Ancient Monument.
Garden walls and attached ha-ha at Sutton Scarsdale Hall. Grade II. Walls and Ha ha. Mid-C18. Brick and coursed sandstone copings. Curved ha ha to north east of Hall attached to garden walls to south east, forming an L-shaped enclosure. The wall along southern boundary is a retaining wall with parapet with semi-circular motif
cut out. (7)
Sutton Scarsdale Hall was built by the 4th and last Lord Scarsdale, who had been Lord lieutenant of the County (of Derbyshire) between 1711-1714 and envoy to Vienna in 1712. He died in 1736 and the house passed to the Clark family, in 1824 in turn it came into the possession of Richard Arkwright, son of the famous inventor. The house was built of biscuit coloured ashlar and featured a coat of arms of the Earls of Scarsdale in the pediment. An 18th century lead plate mentions the craftsmen who were involved in the construction of the house. The architect was named as Francis Smith of Warwick. Also noted are Albert Artari and Francis "Vossari" (presumably Vessali) who are described as being Italian gentlemen responsible for the stucco work. The article includes a number of images of the Hall before it was ruined, both of the exterior and the interior as well as of the gardens. There is also a floor plan. (8)
Source 9 represents a "snapshot" of the uncertain future of Sutton Scarsdale Hall as it then appeared in 1970. It includes images of the house when it was intact in 1918 compared to the 1970s in its ruined state. (9)
The article in SPAB news charts the last days of the hall as an intact building and looks at the process by which it was stripped by a consortium. Many of the fixtures and fittings went to America, despite these being described as entire "rooms" it is possible that some of the assemblages there are not all in their original order as discreet rooms whilst other items may have been introduced by the sellers. One "Scarsdale Room" became a Hollywood film set during the 1940s and was featured in the 1945 Hollywood costume drama "Kitty" for example. The ruined shell of the building was eventually saved by Osbert Sitwell and then taken into state guardianship. Early attempts at consolidation involved the unsympathetic use of concrete, but from the 1990s under the aegis of English Heritage a more sympathetic approach to the conservation of the ruins was taken. (10)
Source including a brief accessible history and description of the ruins of Sutton Scarsdale. (11)
An article by Andor Gomme discusses the influence of the architect Gibbs on Francis Smith's work at Sutton Scarsdale. Gomme also discusses the possibility that some drawings for a Country House of similar size and details to Sutton Scarsdale now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (E5-8/1937) may be drafts for the design of Sutton Scarsdale Hall. (12) |