Sudeley History Timeline

1837-1900

1837

John and William Dent, wealthy glovemakers from Worcester bought the Castle from the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, having already purchased the rest of the estate from Lord Rivers in 1830.

1840

With their architect, Harvey Eginton of Worcester the Dents had completed the restoration of the Elizabethan ranges of the outer courtyard and a large part of the building was then habitable.

1842

The Strawberry Hill Sale – at which the Dents acquired some of the valuable Tudor treasures which help to furnish Sudeley today.

1854-1855

The Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott employed to restore the Sudeley Chapel – completed and re-dedicated in 1863 – also to build the Stable block.

1856

Sudeley inherited by the Dent's nephew John Coucher Dent who had married Emma Brocklehurst, daughter of John Brocklehurst, one of Macclesfield’s first MPs and head of the family’s successful silk milling business.

1865 and 1867

Almshouses and a School in Winchcombe designed by George Gilbert Scott were built with legacies from the Dent family.

1877

Emma Dent’s Book the ‘Annals of Winchcombe and Sudeley’ published by John Murray.

1885

Emma Dent was an intelligent, cultured and industrious Victorian lady who cared deeply for the Sudeley estate and neighbouring Winchcombe. Following her husband’s death in 1885 much of her energy was devoted to their improvement and continuing welfare.

1887

To celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Emma Dent provided Winchcombe with the town’s first piped water supply.

1890

Emma Dent completed the building works at Sudeley which included the North and West Lodges, the Jubilee addition to the Western range, the North Tower and the new main entrance from Winchcombe. These were carried out with J Drayton Wyatt, George Gilbert Scott’s assistant.