For almost 10 years our volunteers and heritage team have used this site to bring you the latest news about Whitehall and to share our passion for historic research and storytelling. We are still committed to bringing you new and interesting articles, however we have found a new home for these on the new and… Continue reading We Are Moving!
It’s coming up to Halloween and Whitehall has been putting on several events to celebrate the occasion. Our fun Halloween trail takes you on an adventure around Whitehall and includes kids crafts! This blog post will discuss a quick history of the occasion itself, including its origins and how it evolved overtime, followed by a… Continue reading A Very Spooky Whitehall Halloween
Several months back, we uploaded a blog post on the six wives of Henry VIII. In this article, we will be exploring his three children, whose lifestyles are as equally interesting and complex. Henry VIII gave birth to several children with his wives and mistresses, but only three legitimate ones survived and took the throne.… Continue reading The Ruling Children of Henry VIII
Back in August, we started a series of posts on important buildings of Cheam. Alongside it will be this series, which will focus on buildings in the London Borough of Sutton as a whole. In our first article in the series, we will be focusing on the history of Carew Manor and some of the important people linked with it.
“It is a world to be here…and see the humours of the place.” Roland Whyte, writing about his experiences of the event. On the 28th September 1599, an astounding event took place at Nonsuch. The Earl of Essex, in an alleged attempt to take power for himself, tried to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I whilst she… Continue reading The Great Essex Coup Plot at Nonsuch!
In our new blog series ‘Buildings of Cheam’ we will be examining the history of Cheam a building at a time. In the first of these, Imogen Easton takes a look at Cheam School – host to royalty and rumours!
Today’s article focuses on two notable figures – William Gilpin (1724-1804), a famed art critic and headteacher at Cheam School from 1752 to 1777, and Dr. Syntax, a fictional satirical character said to have been inspired by him.
Henry VIII is known for being married to six wives, and in fact may have had relationships with more women. The phrase “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” is often used to remember the order they came in and their fates, but is that all there is to them? For instance, did you know that… Continue reading The Wives of Henry VIII
“There could be no finer contribution to the Festival of Britain than the Cheam Charter Fair”. Find out more about the history of this wonderful Charter Fair and what to expect this year!
Scheherazade works in Sutton Council’s Cultural Services team. In 2020, she shared her thoughts on Ramadan during the lockdown brought about by Covid-19. Two years later, she brings her reflections on how Ramadan was different from before.
As Easter Sunday approaches next week and we celebrate the Easter holidays, we think back on what Easter might have been like for the Killick family back in the 19th century.
The Tudors were well known for their feasting. But during the time of Lent, it was a different matter entirely. Gone were the feasts and in their place was reflection. Traditionally in Tudor times, Lent consisted of a forty day period of fasting, starting with Ash Wednesday and ending with Easter. It consisted of abstaining… Continue reading The Tudors and Lent
Trails, Tigers and….Owls?! What a busy February for Whitehall! We hosted a jam-packed programme of activities to mark Lunar New Year, and welcomed families into Whitehall for Cultural Services ‘What’s That?’ Week during half-term. February marked the beginning of the Lunar New Year. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger- the Zodiac symbol of strength… Continue reading Year of the Tiger: Whitehall celebrates Lunar New Year with the Sutton Hong Kongers, and hosts a busy half term!
For our last post of the year, we’re delighted to share a piece by Whitehall volunteer Imogen Easton, who reflects on what Christmas might have been like in Tudor times in the court of Henry the VIII. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Imogen and all our volunteers for their support this year,… Continue reading A Very Merry Whitehall Christmas
In 2015, Sutton Council secured a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the project Know our Place: Saving and Sharing Whitehall. This ambitious scheme aimed to bring a new lease of life to Whitehall Historic House in Cheam, one of the Borough’s oldest buildings. Along with additional capital funding from the Council, and… Continue reading Whitehall: Saving, Knowing, Sharing
As ’10 Objects I can’t live without’ exhibition opens at Whitehall, we’re catching up once again with the activities of our Whitehall Youth Panel, who over the last year have been planning this fun exhibition with exhibition designer Philip Simpson. Today’s post comes from Kathleen O’Sullivan (Yr. 9), who reflects on the final exhibition design and the project as a whole.
New reminiscence and learning resource packs available! Over the past months, we have been very fortunate to join the Alzheimer’s Society Info Cafe online and share some of our favourite photographs and objects from the archives and museums collections. Our aim was to create a remote way of restarting some of the engagement activities we… Continue reading Heritage Café Takeaway
You can now experience Whitehall both physically and digitally! We reopen on Thursday 20th of May with exhibitions, kids trails and plenty of family activities! Book a visit or see what’s on here. Using Matterport 3D space capture technology, Sutton Council’s Cultural Services has built an immersive digital model of Whitehall Historic House. The model… Continue reading Experience Whitehall Historic House like never before!
Join Millie the Mouse and her friends in Whitehall Historic House’s attics for a new Springtime adventure created in collaboration with Golden Toad Theatre and artist Helena Vaughan. Millie the Mouse is the new Whitehall Historic House Mascot. Millie loves the Spring, it is her favourite time of year! You can join Millie and explore Whitehall’s attics to find her brand… Continue reading Millie’s Spring Time Surprises: A virtual 3D trail for families
We’re catching up once again with the activities of our Whitehall Youth Panel, who over the last year the group have been planning an exhibition based around the theme of: ’10 objects I can’t live without’. Today’s post comes from Maahi Patil (Yr. 9), who recaps on some of the decisions they have explored in relation to the design of the exhibition. Additional contributions from Kathleen O’Sullivan (Yr. 9) and Arushi Khemani (Yr. 11).
Today we’re catching up with the activities of our Whitehall Project Youth Panel, which was set up in collaboration with Nonsuch High School for Girls last year. The group’s main project is to curate an exhibition around the theme of: ’10 objects I can’t live without’.
Whitehall Historic House has a new mascot! Millie the Mouse has been having lots of fun exploring Whitehall’s quirky attics and has brought some of her funniest friends along to play. Join Millie and her cheese-loving friends as they discover stories, crafts and other fun activities on our first ever 3D Virtual trail. Discover a… Continue reading Millie the Mouse’s Attic Adventure!
Last autumn, we invited people from all diverse backgrounds, living and working in Sutton, to share images and words about objects that connect to their heritage. In her contribution, a member of the Sutton Cultural Services team shared a photograph of her traditional Korean Hanbok. She reflected on its cultural significance, and how the object… Continue reading object_ive: A Hanbok, from Korea
Our most recent temporary exhibition at Whitehall is a vibrant display called A Good Yarn by Samia Tossio (SamiArt). Sadly, due to current restrictions, we’ve had to temporarily close our doors at Whitehall, which has meant the exhibition has been cut short. Therefore to ensure our visitors and followers have the opportunity to engage with this exhibition, we’ll be sharing images and snippets of stories from the project over the coming weeks, both here and across our other social media platforms. In addition, we’re also extending the dates for the exhibition so that visitors will still have the opportunity to see the displays in person when we reopen (N.B no confirmed date as yet but watch this space!)
We recently invited people from all diverse backgrounds, living and working in Sutton, to help us develop our Museum and Archives collections by contributing with images and words about objects that connect to their heritage. In her contribution, Kelly shared images of her intricate kajal (eyeliner) holder, alongside a childhood photograph from a trip to… Continue reading object_ive: A kajal holder, from India
What one object or thing represents something meaningful or important to you about your heritage? The objects and things that surround us are often connected to stories, experiences, memories and moments of change within our lives. Even though we sometimes take them for granted, the objects we keep express our identities and heritage. In October,… Continue reading object_ive: Share your heritage
Each year we try to make Halloween a spook-tastic family-fun oriented event at Whitehall, and indeed at Honeywood Museum in Carshalton. This year, whilst following the same restrictions as everyone else, we were pleased to be able to host children’s activities at both sites, in the form of spooky treasure hunts: What’s in the Whitehall… Continue reading Halloween reflections…
Earlier this month, we invited members of the African and Caribbean communities living and working in Sutton to contribute with images of a loved object -from a photograph, to a family heirloom and even a song or recipe- and the story behind it. In his submission, Simon shared images of the Gambian dish Benachin, alongside childhood memories.… Continue reading object_ive: Benachin, from The Gambia
Earlier this month, we invited members of the African and Caribbean communities living and working in Sutton to contribute with images of a loved object -from a photograph, to a family heirloom and even a song or recipe- and the story behind it. In her submission, Selam shared photographs of her Mesob, reflected on its… Continue reading object_ive: A Mesob, made in Eritrea
Black History Month (BHM) was first launched in London in the 1980s, to inspire local communities to challenge racism and educate themselves and others about the British history that was not being taught in schools. To mark the start of Black History Month this year, we launched a new project, The Locals: object_ive. For this… Continue reading Making connections
As we approach October and Black History Month, we have once again refocused The Locals with the aim of creating a rapid response style collection display. This iteration of the project asks the African and Caribbean communities living or working in the borough, to answer the following question: ‘What one possession or item in your… Continue reading the locals: object_ive
Whitehall Historic House 