Sudley House facts for kids
Sudley House is a special historic house in Aigburth, Liverpool, England. It was built in 1824 and changed a lot in the 1880s. Today, it's a museum and art gallery. Inside, you can see the amazing art collection of George Holt. He was a rich shipping-line owner who used to live there. The house still shows his art collection just as he had it. You can find paintings by famous artists like Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, Edwin Landseer, John Everett Millais, and J. M. W. Turner.
George Holt's daughter, Emma Georgina Holt, gave the house to the city of Liverpool in 1944. Now, National Museums Liverpool looks after it.
Contents
The Story of Sudley House
How Sudley House Was Built
Sudley House, first called just Sudley, was finished in 1824. It was built on land that used to belong to the Tarleton family. The house was a two-story building made of smooth stone. It was built for Nicholas Robinson, a corn merchant. He became the Lord Mayor of Liverpool in 1828. Mr. Robinson paid £4,500 for the land.
When Mr. Robinson passed away in 1854, his two daughters inherited the house. They both died in 1883. The house and its land, which was about 30 acres, were put up for sale in 1880. In 1884, Victorian shipping owner George Holt bought it. Some experts think the first design was by John Whiteside Casson. Others believe it might have been by Thomas Harrison.
When George Holt bought the house, he made big changes. The main entrance was moved from the east side to the north side. An office wing was also added on the west side. These changes made the inside of the house look different. The original staircase, with its fancy columns and a dome with a glass opening above it, became more visible. A new two-story part was added to the south side. It also got a special tower at the back.
Art and Life at Sudley
George Holt was a passionate art collector. He mostly bought paintings from art dealers and at exhibitions. He didn't often ask artists to create new works for him. Some of his most important paintings are still in the house today. These include J. M. W. Turner's Rosenau, which shows Prince Albert's home in Germany. Another famous one is Gainsborough's Viscountess Folkestone. The collection also has paintings by Richard Parkes Bonington, Edwin Landseer, John Everett Millais, Joshua Reynolds, George Romney, and the Pre-Raphaelites.
George Melly, a famous jazz singer and art expert, was related to the Holt family. He visited Sudley House many times as a child in the 1930s. At that time, George Holt's only child, Emma Georgina Holt, owned the house. George Melly shared stories about what life was like there. He mentioned that her father, George Holt, left a very large amount of money when he died in 1896.
Emma Holt gave the house and its art collection to the city in 1944. This collection is special because it's the only British art collection of its kind still in its original home. Today, National Museums Liverpool manages Sudley House.
Modern Updates and Fun for Kids
Sudley House closed for two years for a big update that cost £1 million. It reopened on May 26, 2007. During this time, the house was redecorated to look like it did when George Holt lived there. The first floor was also changed a lot. Three new exciting areas were added for visitors:
- Childhood Rooms: These rooms show how Victorian children learned and played. You can see a large Victorian dolls' house, old educational toys, and fashion dolls. There are also pots that rich and poor children used for meals.
- Costume Room: This room has changing displays of old clothes. One display showed a small part of the huge collection of clothes belonging to Emily Tinne and her children. This collection is kept by National Museums Liverpool.
- Temporary Exhibitions Gallery: This is a special space for different art shows that change over time.
The library on the ground floor now has a display about the Holt family. You can watch an introduction film and see family portraits. There's also a model of the Verdi steamer ship. This ship belonged to the Lamport and Holt shipping company, which George Holt helped start in 1845.
See also
- Vanessa (Millais painting)
