THE HISTORY OF STRATHMORE HOUSE
In 1884, the 18 acres was offered for sale by auction in the Town Hall Southwold by ‘the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses’. LOT 6 ‘part of North Cliff Estate' was sold for £140 to the highest bidder, Richard Augustus Withall, Gentleman, of 29, Great George Street Westminster, Middx. Lot 6 stretched back to what is now Field Stile Road and included the site of what is now called White House, formerly Dunreath, and The Cedars. The land was subject to various covenants and Richard Withall was required to build one or more houses at a cost of not less than £600 each within 3 years. However, Richard Withall did not comply with the requirements because in 1890 he sold the plot to James Crimmen of Southwold for £140 - the same amount he had purchased it for 6 years earlier. JAMES CRIMMEN In April 1891 when the census was taken, North Parade was not named, although most of the houses were already built, and were individually named. Nos 1, 2, and 3 Northernhay (now nos 23-25 North Parade) preceding Strathmore House, (no 26,) were in existence, although only one was inhabited on census night. Next to these, under the heading ‘North Cliff Estate’, were three houses in the process of being built - Strathmore House, no 27, and no 28. The photo of North Parade in 1892 appears to shows the houses complete but the road unmade. It is assumed that the two houses - Strathmore House and Dunreath, were built on the plot at the same time. They are built in the same style, and as will be seen remained in the same ownership until 1920. Strathmore House was built to a high specification. Most of North Parade is in red brick, and terraced; Strathmore House is the only one built in Suffolk white. It was laid out in a grand style with a central front entrance and staircase. There were railings at the front, and an iron balustrade round the bays. (These were probably removed in World War II when householders were encouraged to give up superfluous iron for munitions). It was built with good drains and at least running cold water - until recently there was the remains of a very large water tank on the top floor which had probably served the whole house. There were fireplaces in all main rooms, including the top floor, but of course no central heating or secondary glazing so it must have been pretty cold. Although the Grand Hotel had electric lighting when it was built in 1901, it is unlikely that this was installed in Strathmore House until much later. The town, however, was first lit by gas in 1848, so this may have been available in the house The top floor rooms may have been the children’s bedrooms with a room for the nanny. Both the large rooms have bells for summoning servants. The present bathroom, toilet, and storeroom were originally all one room and may always have been a bathroom - there was until recently a bell over the bath and there is a very old soapdish. The entrance stairs to Flat 3 would have been the back stairs for use by the servants. The positioning of these, and the back door, was slightly altered in the conversion to flats It is not known whether James Crimmen had intended the property for his own use or whether he built for speculation, but on 12th March 1894 he sold ‘premises’ (assumed to mean both Strathmore House and Dunreath), but not The Cedars which has never appeared in the same ownership) to Frances Ashton Middleton for £450. FRANCES ASHTON MIDDLETON Frances Middleton, born c.1844 in London, was a granddaughter of Edward Beaumont Venn of Freston. At the time of the census in April 1881 she was aged 36 and living at Freston Lodge with her maternal aunts Edmunda Gambier Venn aged 65, Margaretta Elfrida Hahn aged 56, her uncle, John Hahn, and various servants. We do not know whether Frances Middleton bought Strathmore House for a permanent residence, or a holiday home. By 1901, many of the properties on North Parade were let out for lengthy seaside holidays to better off families who had discovered the beneficial effects of the East Coast climate! She would have had the option of travelling to Southwold by rail or may have used her own coach - a coachman was kept at Freston Lodge, and the wide entrance at the back between Strathmore House and Dunreath was probably designed for a coach and stables. It seems likely that it was Frances Middleton who named the properties as the first mention of these names are in her Will. The name is not engraved into the brickwork as in many of the houses on North Parade, although there is what looks like a bare plaque over the front entrance. It has been suggested that the house was named Strathmore because of some connection with the late Queen Mother's family - the Queen Mother's father being the Earl of Strathmore - but no foundation has been found for this story! It may be that the Venn family had property in Scotland, or had enjoyed holidays in the Vale of Strathmore. No origin for the name Dunreath has been found. Sadly, Frances didn't enjoy her house for very long as she died in September 1895 in her 51st year. She is buried with her mother in Freston Churchyard. THE FEMALE SUCCESSION Strathmore was left to her maternal aunt, Edmunda Gambier Venn for life, and ‘her cottage Dunreath’, to her ‘old servant’ Mary Slogrove for life. Edmunda Venn was aged 80 when she inherited Strathmore from her niece. It is not known whether she used the house in the sixteen years before her death in 1911. We know it was let out in 1901 (see below) so it seems likely that this was mostly the case. Frances had made the provision that on the death of her aunt, the property should pass to her cousin Henry Edward Green for life, and then to any daughter he should have. Henry Green predeceased Edmunda Venn and had no daughter, so the property then passed to Frances' great niece, Harriet Cecelia Noel Venn aged about 17, of Bredfield, Suffolk. A year later, in 1912, Mary Slogrove died, and under the terms of the Will, Dunreath also passed to Harriet Venn. Harriet Venn married Sidney George Leek, a Sack Merchant, in 1914 and lived in Ipswich. We do not know whether she ever lived in Strathmore House, but a Statutory Declaration, made later in 1926, states that she inherited the house in 1911 and ‘remained in possession or receipt of rents until 1920’ which again suggests it was let out. In 1920, Harriet Leek nee Venn sold Strathmore House and Dunreath to Elinor Bennet Clarke for £1300, and thus ended the ownership of the Venn family. DUNREATH AND MARY SLOGROVE Mary Slogrove was born in Woolverstone, Suffolk, (the next village to Freston) in 1860. Although she is described in Frances Ashton's Will as her old servant, she was in fact younger than Frances. In April 1901, she was living in Dunreath and is described as Caretaker for Strathmore which implies it was not in permanent occupation. Mary has not been located in the 1911 census, although her death in 1912 was registered in Blything District. After 1920, Dunreath does not appear with Strathmore House, and was probably sold separately. STRATHMORE HOUSE IN 1901 Richard Paddison, married man age 37, Barrister living on own means, born Hampton, Middx Presumably the 2 nurses were for the children. One young servant in addition does not seem enough for a large family and house. Possibly there were daily servants, or Mary Slogrove helped out. By now, Southwold was becoming a popular holiday resort. The original pier was built in 1901 and steamers ran from London to Gt Yarmouth, calling at Southwold. The seafront gardens were laid out and bathing machines were operating. The health-giving properties of the bracing sea air were much extolled. According to information in a booklet, ‘Southwold & Neighbourhood’ about Southwold written around 1902, Richard Paddison had been a Headmaster in Surrey, but because of ill health in the family had to seek a healthier climate. He came to live in Southwold for a year to see how his family fared before opening a school in what is now called Regency House, No 1 South Green. ELINOR BENNET CLARK In 1926, Elinor Clark, by now a widow, living at San Antonio, Southwold sold Strathmore House to the Children's Special Service Mission of 5, Wigmore Street London, for £1750. THE CHILDREN'S SPECIAL SERVICE MISSION (CSSM) MARY ANN WALDORF On Mary Ann's death in 1947, Strathmore House passed to her daughter. ALICE ELLEN MARSLAND In 1949, Alice was given planning permission to open Strathmore House as a private day school. (It was leased or rented to Miss Moss and the school named ‘Roses Way’) and in 1957, planning permission was again granted, this time to turn the property into a private hotel. At the same time, it was leased to George and Lilian Parry, proprietors of the Centre Cliff Hotel Southwold. THE PARRY'S AND THE CONVERSION TO FLATS Three years later, planning permission was granted to convert the property to 2 flats and one bungalow. A new wing was built on to the ground floor kitchen to form a bungalow (now Garden Cottage), and the ground floor flat was leased to Clifford and Norah Bray of Harrogate for £4840. In 1967, further planning permission was granted to convert the top floor to a separate flat, the first floor flat was leased to Mr and Mrs Kingshott of Brentwood, Essex, and the bungalow, which from this time became a separate freehold, was sold to Alfred and Madeleine Healey of Wenhaston for £2800. In 1968, Miss Crawford, and Miss Wharton moved into the ground floor flat. They had been nurses in a Red Cross Hospital until it was taken over when the NHS came into being. They had known Southwold since childhood - Miss Wharton having been a pupil at St Felix School - and they remembered coming to Southwold by steamer. They were to live in the flat until 1988, when the lease was bought by the present owner. The first floor flat has changed hands quite frequently. It was owned for approximately 10 years by Mr and Mrs Crowe of Gorleston. Mr Crowe had owned his own business (a furniture shop) in Gorleston and they had lived in a large house on the seafront there. Mr Crowe died in 1987 and the flat was sold to Mr and Mrs Rowntree. The current owners have had the flat since 1997. MRS DECK Mrs Deck was aged over 80 when she purchased the flat and we are told she remained active, going up and down the 39 stairs until her last few weeks. It is believed she had spent a good part of her life in India where her husband had been connected with the tea trade. By all accounts she was a very small lady but independently minded. Southwold was known for having many retired people who had spent their lives in India. The dining room table and the kitchen cupboard amongst other things were Mrs Deck's furniture. Mrs Deck became ill in January 1985 and decided to go into a Home. We purchased the flat from her and she died during the course of the transactions so we never met her. Our purchase was completed on 19th June 1985 Margaret Stacey c.1995
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