Sutton Court

Sutton Court is a former fortified manor house, now a country house, dating back to the early 14th century. It has undergone several phases of development, including additions and alterations around 1450, 1558, and circa 1700, with a significant restructuring and restoration by T.H. Wyatt in 1858-60. The building is constructed from squared and coursed sandstone rubble with freestone and ashlar dressings, copings, and slate roofs.

The north front features a central 3-storey 14th-century pele tower with a taller circular stair turret, linked to 2-storey ranges. To the left is a range built in 1558, often referred to as the 'Bess of Hardwick Building,' and to the right is a 4-bay servants' wing added in 1858-60. The pele tower and the right-hand linking range have 15th-century windows, consisting of 2 cusped lights with hoodmoulds, some renewed and some relocated. A 1858-60 doorway leads into the tower. The left-hand linking range and the 'Hardwick Building' feature 4 and 6-light chamfered mullion windows. The 'Hardwick' range has diagonal offset buttresses. The pele tower has 18th-century battlements, and tall octagonal ashlar stacks are present.

The south front’s irregularity was accentuated by Wyatt’s work, resulting in a 7-bay, 2-storey range. This includes 3 gabled canted bays, an advanced end bay, and a central advanced porch with a bay window above. The windows are largely 19th-century six-light chamfered mullions. A central doorway has a bolection surround and a semi-circular hood supported by ornately carved brackets. An armorial shield sits above the doorway, and a sundial with a datestone (HS/1734) is on the parapet.

Internally, a survey in 1985 revealed rooms undergoing dry rot treatment. Most medieval features were lost during Wyatt’s restoration, with the exception of the roof structure within the 'Hardwick Building,' which remains above a 19th-century coved ceiling. This roof features a through-purlin roof with collar and tie beams and arched windbraces. Several fireplaces are attributed to Wyatt. The manor was originally built by William de Sutton. Elizabeth Hardwick, Lady St. Loe, owned it in 1558. Sir Edward Strachey commissioned the Wyatt restoration and rebuilding.