Sudbury Hall

George Vernon inherited Sudbury in the 1660s and spent the next 42 years transforming his ancestor’s smaller mansion into the present Hall. Although Vernon was a member of a modest county family he married advantageously into wealthy families, boosting his political and social ambitions while providing the funds necessary to achieve his grandiose architectural vision. Whilst Sudbury dates from the reign of Charles II, it is Jacobean in conception with a long gallery and a great staircase. The interior boasts sophisticated plasterwork by James Pettifer and Samuel Mansfield of Derby, fine carvings by Edward Pierce, an overmantel by Grinling Gibbons and murals by Louis Laguerre. Vernon kept the traditional structure preferred by the Tudors with the staterooms at the east and the service rooms to the west. The National Trust Museum of Childhood George Devey added a servants’ wing to Sudbury Hall in 1874-83. Today, this wing houses the National Trust Museum of Childhood.

Sudbury Hall, National Trust Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire (Accredited Museum)

This collection has 18,514 items online

A collection of objects reflecting the changes and similarities in childhood over the centuries. Of course there are toys, games and dolls - ranging from an Egyptian ball to a Bratz doll - but there are also items relating to childcare, costume, education, hobbies and pastimes. The harsher aspects of childhood, such as the lives of the child chimney sweeps, are also represented. In addition the Museum holds in trust many objects belonging to the Betty Cadbury collection of 'Playthings Past' - a rich collection of childhood objects which ranges from the 'World's Smallest Noah's Ark' to the 'Smoking Chinaman' automaton.

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