Sutton Veny House
The earliest recorded reference to Greenhill House is 29 May 1822 when Miss Ann Hinton daughter of William Hinton, of Greenhill House sold some land in Newnham. A map dated 1804 does not show the house and as William Hinton died in 1816 (from an 'apoplectic fit') and it is believed that he built the house, then it is assumed that the house was built sometime between 1804 and the year of his death in 1816.
The house remained in the Hinton family until 1853 when Joseph Everett bought the house for £16,300. (St John's Church in Sutton Veny was built in his memory when he died in 1865). The lodge houses within the estate were built in 1865 as their crests above the front door indicate. Huntsman Lodge (114 Norton Road) was built as an estate cottage in 1860.
The house then had a number of different owners until 1898 when it was sold for £15,000 (which was less than it cost in 1853 !).
After the British battalions left Sutton Veny for France in 1915 and 1916, the Australian Commonwealth Military Forces who were stationed in the village and in the area took Greenhill House to their hearts. An excerpt from a YMCA brochure of the time states:
" Situated in the midst of the largest A I F training and convalescent depots in Great Britain, this mansion, containing over 50 rooms, and with spacious lawns and grounds, offered ideal possibilities for rest and recuperation for war weary troops . There are no charges - with the exception of the buffets - for any of the attractions, to which the YMCA is constantly adding. A more charmingly arranged home than Greenhill House it would be impossible to find, and among the staff - the majority who are Australians - there is a spirit of unity that is so essential to the success of every undertaking, whether work or sport."
After the war, life in Greenhill House and in Sutton Veny returned to normal. The house was renamed Sutton Veny House probably in the early 1920s. Sutton Veny House was the principal house of the Sutton Veny Estate which had land in Sutton Veny, Upton Lovell and Eastleigh Farm.
The house and property was bought in 1929 by Lady Lacey. Her husband Sir Francis Lacey Kt was the first man to be knighted for services to sport, which in his case was cricket.
For a period of approximately 10 years before and during the Second World War, the house was used as a Nursery School with 32 children attending and presumably with Lady Lacey still in the house.
During the Second World War, Sutton Veny House was the location for the Divisional Headquarters and in 1949 Lady Lacey made the house and property a gift to Major John Walker (with children Amanda, Alexander, Veryan and Simon) who lived in the house until 1981 when it was bought by Major and Mrs Peter Barton who turned it into a Nursing Home
In 1994 Sutton Veny House was bought by Mr and Mrs Tony Henthorne who have since sold it as a nursing home.
The house and property remain as grand as ever.
