Sledmere House facts for kids
Sledmere House is a very important old country house in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It's built in the Georgian style and is famous for its beautiful old furniture by designers like Chippendale and Sheraton. The house is surrounded by a large park designed by Capability Brown, a famous landscape architect.
Sledmere House has been the home of the Sykes family for a long time. It's located in the village of Sledmere, between Driffield and Malton. The first version of the current house was started in 1751. It was made bigger in the 1790s and then rebuilt after a big fire in 1911. Today, it's the home of Sir Tatton Sykes, 8th Baronet. The house is built from a special type of stone and has three floors, shaped like the letter H.
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History of Sledmere House
The Sykes family started their journey to wealth a long time ago. William Sykes (who lived from 1500 to 1577) moved from one part of England to another. He and his son became very rich by trading cloth. Later, Daniel Sykes (born in 1632) started trading in Hull and made a huge fortune from shipping and money deals. Richard Sykes (1678–1726) focused on trading pig iron from the Baltic Sea, which was very popular. This trade helped the family become even richer in the early 1700s.
Building the House and Expanding the Estate
In 1751, Sir Richard Sykes (1706–1761) knocked down the old house at Sledmere, which had been there since medieval times. He then built the new mansion we see today. He also planted about 20,000 trees around his new home. Sir Richard didn't have any sons, so when he died, the estate went to his brother, Sir Mark Sykes, 1st Baronet (1711–1783).
Sir Mark's son, Sir Christopher Sykes, 2nd Baronet (1749–1801), made the estate much bigger. He was also a Member of Parliament (MP) for Beverley. Sir Christopher and his wife bought and prepared huge areas of land for farming. They also added two new parts to the house and designed the park, planting about 2,500 acres (10 square kilometers) of trees. They even moved the entire village of Sledmere! Sir Christopher left a massive estate of almost 30,000 acres (120 square kilometers) and a large mansion set in its own 200 acres (0.8 square kilometers) of parkland. This estate is still owned by the family today. Sir Christopher also hired Joseph Rose, a very famous artist who worked with plaster, to decorate Sledmere. His work is considered some of the best plaster decoration in England.
The 1911 Fire and Restoration
In 1911, a huge fire almost completely destroyed the inside of the house. It's said that Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet, who loved milk puddings, was apparently too busy eating one to notice much at first! However, villagers and workers from the estate bravely rushed in and saved many valuable items. They rescued pictures, statues, furniture, china, carpets, and even doors and stair railings. They even saved a copy of the famous Apollo Belvedere statue from 1780. Just moments later, the roof fell in. Luckily, the original designs for the house's interiors had survived. This meant the house could be rebuilt exactly as it was before. Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet, inherited the estate after his father.
Sledmere Today: Tribfest
Today, some of the land around Sledmere House is used for Tribfest. This is a music festival that features tribute bands, which are groups that play songs by famous artists. Tribfest started in 2007 and has been held at Sledmere House every year since, except for 2020 when it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Features of Sledmere House
Sledmere House has many interesting rooms and features.
Inside the House
The Long Library at Sledmere is a truly beautiful room, especially after being carefully restored. The Drawing Room and Music Room were decorated by Joseph Rose, the famous plaster artist. The Music Room has a wonderful organ case designed by Samuel Green for the original house in 1751. However, the organ doesn't actually work; it's just for show!
The Turkish Room is very special. It was designed for Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet, by an Armenian artist named David Ohannessian. The room was inspired by one of the sultan's apartments in the Yeni Mosque in Istanbul. The beautiful tiles in the room were made in 1913 in Ohannessian's workshop. The Roman Catholic chapel connected to the house has a lovely ceiling painted by Thomas Errington. It shows the four winged creatures that represent the Evangelists in the front part of the chapel. In the main part of the chapel, you can see paintings of different birds, including a mute swan, grey heron, barn swallow, and northern lapwing.
The Gardens and Park
Sledmere House is surrounded by a large park that covers about 960 acres (3.9 square kilometers). This park was designed in 1777 by Capability Brown, a very famous landscape designer. Sir Christopher Sykes, 2nd Baronet, helped make the design a reality. The original plan for the park is still kept in the house! The gardens also include a paved sculpture court (added in 1911), an old walled rose garden from the 1700s, and a newer knot garden.
Sledmere Monument
The Sledmere Monument is a tall stone monument, about 120 feet (37 meters) high. It stands along the B1252 road on Garton Hill. This monument was built in 1865 by friends and neighbors to remember Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet.
See also
- Sykes family of Sledmere
