Shock and Controversy: Gower Quits!
The letters sent to Lord Gower - George Granville Leveson-Gower (1721-1833), Marquis of Stafford, - by people declining to support him at the Staffordshire Election suggest that the countywide popularity ...
Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860)
Charles Barry is described by M. H. Port as ‘Britain’s leading architect’ of the first half of the nineteenth century.
From an early age Barry exhibited an enthusiasm and aptitude for drawing. Aged ...
Sir Charles Barry's Trentham Hall, 1834
In 1834 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1758-1833), the second Duke of Sutherland, employed Charles Barry to remodel Trentham Hall and its gardens. Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) had grown in ...
Sir Thomas Lawrence
Born in 1769 Thomas Lawrence developed an enthusiasm for art from an early age. His portraits of English and European royalty made him the most fashionable portrait painter of the early nineteenth century. ...
Sophia Blayney Hickey
Sophia Blayney Hickey wrote to the Duke of Sutherland in February 1833. She had been ‘plunged’ into ‘distress’ by the failure of her business in India. She appeals to the Duke that her income ‘all coming ...
Stone Parish Receipts and Disbursements, 1828-1829
Amongst printed material relating to Stone is an account of the receipts and disbursements of the Parish from 1828-1829. This document provides an insight into life in Stone during the early nineteenth ...
Strawberry the Bull
Extensive owners of agricultural land, the Sutherland family purchased many farm animals including a prize bull called Strawberry, purchased in 1824.
William Lewis, the family’s Trentham Agent at this ...
Survey of Hooks Green Farm, 1820
The Survey of Hooks Green Farm from 1820 tells us that the small cluster of red buildings on the 1820 plan formed Robert Tildesley's 'Messuage' on the land.
The Survey describes croft land which was ...
The Bakehouse at West Hill, 1824
West Hill had its own bakehouse which baked and provided bread for the household. The bakehouse had its own ‘bread oven and stove’ with a three foot ‘kneading trough’ and ‘flour bin’.
Baking tins, ...
The Blue Bedroom, West Hill, 1824
The Blue Bedroom at West Hill contained a considerable amount of furniture, including a ‘Fourpost Bedstead with Wainscot feet posts’. This bedstead is described as featuring a ‘handsome white shell & ...
The Borough of Stafford, 1838
The plan above shows the Borough of Stafford in 1838. The town centre can be seen in the middle of the plan, including the Market Hall Square and the main high street, Greengate Street. Eastgate Street, ...
The Butler’s Sleeping Room, West Hill, 1824
The Butler at West Hill had a sleeping room in the Basement of the house. A stove and fender were housed in this room, alongside a ‘Mahogany folding linen airer’ and a ‘Fourpost Bedstead’. This bedstead ...
The Clearances
During the early nineteenth century James Loch, the chief agent of the Leveson-Gower family attempted to improve the economy of the family’s highland estates in Sutherland from the bare subsistence ...
The Closure of Trentham Savings Bank
Encouraging the industrious working classes to save became a national concern with the establishment of the Post Office Savings Bank following the Savings Bank Act of 1863. The Trentham and Lilleshall ...
The Conservatory at West Hill, 1824
In addition to the hot houses, West Hill had its own Conservatory which was also used for growing exotic fruits. Eight 'fine orange trees in pots’ were kept in the Conservatory, which also housed a ‘wire ...
The Development of Transport and Communication links in Swynnerton
The Sutherland Papers contain a number of documents relating to the construction of a new line of road between Trentham Inn and Acton in the Parish of Swynnerton between 1843 and 1850. The construction ...
The Duke of Sutherland and Estate Management: Oswald Mosley and Stoke-on-Trent
A number of letters in the Duke’s papers concern the management of his extensive estates in Staffordshire and Shropshire. A notable letter amongst these is from Oswald Mosley and concerns the management ...
The Duke of Sutherland and Estate Management: Rewards for Cottagers, 1847
A letter dated November 1st 1847 from George Cooper, John Bate and John Swift demonstrates that the Duke of Sutherland took an active interest in the lifestyle of his tenants and was keen to reward those ...