Editing Stratfield Saye House

{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Stratfield Saye House
| native_name = 
| native_language = 
| image = Stratfield Saye House - geograph.org.uk - 1423277.jpg
| caption = 
| type = [[Country house]]
| locmapin = Hampshire
| coordinates = {{coord|51|20|57|N|0|59|47|W|type:landmark_scale:1000_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| gbgridref = SU 70018 61566
| location = [[Stratfield Saye]]
| area = [[Hampshire]]
| built =
| architect = 
| architecture = 
| governing_body = 
| owner = [[Duke of Wellington (title)|Duke of Wellington]]
| designation1 = Grade I
| designation1_offname = Stratfield Saye House
| designation1_date = 26 Apr 1957
| designation1_number = {{Listed building England|1092773}}
| designation2 = National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
| designation2_offname = Stratfield Saye Park
| designation2_date = 31 May 1984
| designation2_number = {{Listed building England|1000866}}
| designation3 = 
| designation3_offname = 
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}}

'''Stratfield Saye House''' is a large [[stately home]] at [[Stratfield Saye]] in the north-east of the English county of [[Hampshire]]. It has been the home of the [[Duke of Wellington (title)|Dukes of Wellington]] since 1817.

==Early history==

The line of the [[Roman Road]] the [[Devil's Highway (Roman Britain)|Devil's Highway]] passes East to West just within the Northern boundary of the grounds of Stratfield Saye House 
<ref>Hampshire Field Club and Archeological Society, Papers and Proceedings. Vol.VII, Part I. Printed 1914. H.M. Gilbert and Son, 24 Above Bar, Southampton and at Winchester. Sketch Map opposite page 24</ref>

The Manor of Stratfield Saye was created by the joining of two older manors. In the 12th century Stratfield was owned by the Stoteville family, and then early in the 13th century this passed by marriage to the Saye family.

Before 1370 the manor passed on again by marriage to the [[Sanchet D'Abrichecourt|Dabridgecourts]],<ref>[[John Gough Nichols]], ''The Topographer and genealogist'', Volume 1 (1846), pp. 198–208 [https://books.google.com/books?id=VKZWAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA200 read here] on Google Books</ref> and in 1629 they sold the property to the Pitt family, cousins of the great father-and-son Prime Ministers.

The main part of the house was extensively enlarged around 1630 by [[William Pitt (courtier)|Sir William Pitt]], [[Comptroller of the Household]] to King [[James I of England|James I]]. Sir William's eldest son, [[Edward Pitt]] (1592–1643), MP, of Steepleton Iwerne, Dorset, and later of Stratfield Saye, bought the estate for £4,800 in 1629.<ref>''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604–1629'', edited by Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010</ref> Further extensive alterations were carried out to the house and park in the 18th century by [[George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers]].

==Purchase by the state==
[[File:Coachhouse, Stratfield Saye - geograph.org.uk - 1420480.jpg|thumb|left|The coachhouses and stable blocks at Stratfield Saye House.]]

The estate was purchased by the state in 1817, so that it could be given by a grateful nation to the victorious [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]]. The government gave £600,000 for the construction of a proposed "Waterloo Palace" to rival [[Blenheim Palace]], home of the [[Duke of Marlborough (title)|Dukes of Marlborough]]. 

The Hampshire site Wellington chose was the {{convert|5000|acre|km2|adj=on}} estate of Stratfield Saye, home of the Pitt family. He was advised on the purchase by the architect [[Benjamin Dean Wyatt]] who had once been his private secretary.<ref>{{cite book|title=Wellington: A Personal History|first=Christopher|last= Hibbert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZnnnUQu6cAC&pg=PT220|access-date=26 December 2011|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2010|isbn=978-0-00-740694-4}}</ref> He originally planned to demolish the existing house, and replace it with a more prestigious home, to be known as Waterloo Palace. These plans were abandoned in 1821, when they proved to be too expensive, and subsequently the duke made numerous additions and improvements to the existing building. All but the 1st and 6th Dukes are buried at Stratfield Saye House.

==The Wellington Exhibition==
The stables are grade II [[listed building]]s.<ref>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-139111-stable-block-north-side-stratfield-saye- North Side]</ref><ref>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-139112-stable-block-south-side-stratfield-saye- South Side]</ref> They now contain the Wellington Exhibition, which depicts the life and times of the 1st Duke. It houses a large collection of military mementoes. The Duke's [[cast bronze]] funeral carriage, made from melted-down French cannons captured at the [[Battle of Waterloo]], was moved to Stratfield Saye in the 1980s.<ref>[http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.aspx?uid=80306&index=36&mainQuery=wellington&searchType=all&form=home Funeral carriage]</ref>

==Duke of Wellington Commemorative Column==
{{for|other monuments to Wellington|List of monuments to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington}}
[[File:The Wellington Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 62232.jpg|thumb|right|The Wellington Memorial at the entrance to Stratfield Saye House.]]

The Duke of Wellington Commemorative Column stands at the entrance to Stratfield Saye on the eastern [[Heckfield]] side. The [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] column, which can be viewed from the [[A33 road|A33]], is topped by a bronze statue by [[Carlo Marochetti|Baron Carlo Marochetti]]. The column was erected in 1863.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/7753db85.html |title=Duke of Wellington Commemorative Column |work=Art & Architecture |publisher=The Courtauld Institute |access-date=2014-10-04 }}</ref>

==Places named after Stratfield Saye House==
[[Strathfieldsaye, Victoria|Strathfieldsaye]], now a suburb of [[Bendigo]] in Victoria, Australia, was named after Stratfield Saye House.<ref>[https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/strathfieldsaye Victorian Places – Strathfieldsaye]</ref> Between 1861 and 1994, there was also a [[Shire of Strathfieldsaye]]. The name of [[Strathfield, New South Wales|Strathfield]], now a suburb of Sydney, Australia, also comes ultimately from Stratfield Saye House.<ref>[https://strathfieldheritage.org/buildings/strathfield/origin-of-the-name-strathfield/ Strathfield Heritage – ORIGIN OF THE NAME ‘STRATHFIELD’]</ref> The names of the suburbs of [[North Strathfield, New South Wales|North Strathfield]] and [[Strathfield South, New South Wales|Strathfield South]], and the [[Municipality of Strathfield]] have the same origin.

==In popular culture==
Filming of the [[Steven Spielberg]] film ''[[War Horse (film)|War Horse]]'' began in August 2010 with the cavalry scenes being filmed at Stratfield Saye House, where Wellington's war horse, [[Copenhagen (horse)|Copenhagen]], is buried.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/7985292/John-Francome-returns-the-saddle-in-legends-charity-race.html|title=Jockeys jump at the chance to help Spielberg |date=6 September 2010|access-date=20 September 2010|work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Apsley House]] – the London home of the Dukes of Wellington
*[[Waterloo ceremony]]
*[[Walmer Castle]] – the residence of the 1st Duke as [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{Official|http://www.wellingtonestates.co.uk/stratfield-saye-house}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100218022324/http://www.victoriahinshaw.com/default.aspx?page=stratfield Victoria Hinshaw]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110605032939/http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol02/page306.html Hampshire Treasures, by Hampshire County Council] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20110605032952/http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol02/page303.html next page]

{{Wellesley}}

[[Category:Country houses in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Museums in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Biographical museums in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in England]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Gardens in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Grade I listed houses]]