Sutton House
The only local house to survive to the twenty-first century. It was among the smallest of the “gentry houses”, probably because it was built for Ralph Sadleir when he was still in his twenties and making his way in the world.
The name Sutton House was invented by a Victorian local historian who knew Thomas Sutton had a house in Hackney and assumed it was this one. In fact the earliest name we know of is the “bryk place” – this tells us how unusual it was to build in expensive brick at a time when most houses were timber framed.
Sutton House has changed over the years. It has been a school, offices, a youth club, a squat and a pair of semi-detached houses as well as a single house, and its windows, doors and the layout of many of its rooms and staircases have been altered.
But it is possible to work out what Sutton House was like when it was the new home of Ralph Sadleir and his wife.
Some of the rooms look very much as they did in Tudor times – for example, the linenfold parlour still has its panelling, although this was originally painted in bright colours.. Ralph Sadleir probably used this room as a study, and we can imagine him sitting by the fire writing reports to Thomas Cromwell.
It is likely that at least a dozen servants were employed to run the house, with more for the gardens, farm and stables – water was carried from the well which still exists in the courtyard, the fires were all of wood or sea coal, and most items, from soap to honey, were likely to be produced at home. .But some things, such as spices, wax candles, needles, shoes and fabrics, had to be bought, and a new house of this size would offer a valuable source of new custom to local tradespeople. And for people of this status, there might be opportunities for entertainers for their parties, painters of portraits, and makers of luxury food.
We know the name of only one of the Sutton House servants, the steward Gervase Cawood, whose accounts book survives in the British Library. Cawood was the most senior of Sadleir’s staff, and oversaw all the finances for his whole property portfolio.
When Sutton House was new Homerton High Street ran past the front windows just as it does today, but to the south of the house there was a garden and home farm of thirty acres running down to Hackney Brook, which then ran above ground (now it still runs, but in a pipe).
Sadleir himself was often away from Hackney working at court, and his wife Helen ran the household in his absence. The Sadleir had seven children, and for such a large family and their servants, Sutton House may not have seemed very big.
By the 1540s, Ralph Sadleir owned thousands of acres of property in several counties including Kent and Hertfordshire. He built a large and impressive house at Standon, and by 1550 Sutton House was no longer big or impressive enough for a man of his wealth and status. It, and all the rest of Sadleir’s property in Hackney, was sold to a City merchant called John Machell.
View children's drawings, photos or reports about Ralph Sadleir.