The House and its History
Though by no means a small house (it has nine bedrooms and six
bathrooms), Sturford has always been a family home and lacks the
intimidating grandeur of many country houses. Because no major changes
have been made, it still shows, especially in the central staircase hall,
the restrained classical elegance so typical of many houses in Bath.
The picture, taken from the Country Life archive, shows how
little it has changed since the 1940's.
Sturford Mead was built in 1820, in the then popular Greek Revival
style, for H.A.Fussell, who owned a dye works nearby. The architect was
John Pinch the elder (1770-1825), who was responsible for many classical
buildings in Bath. In 1854, due to the collapse of the cloth trade in the area, the house was sold to the Longleat estate. It was leased by them to various tenants, and from 1897 to 1920 to H.T.Cookson and then to his widow Adeline until 1931. During the last century the house was extended to the west in less formal style.
In the early thirties, Henry Thynne, then Lord Weymouth but later 6th Marquess of Bath, and his first wife Daphne, moved into Sturford Mead. There followed a period, well described in Daphne Fielding's autobiography, when, as well as bringing up their four children, the Weymouths became the focus of a hectic social circle. Many well-known names of the time were guests at Sturford.
After the war, things were not the same. The death of the 5th Marquess led to crippling Death Duties; the house was auctioned in 1954, but failed to make the reserve of £3,750. It was eventually bought by Sir Lees Mayall, a diplomat, who lived there between spells of service abroad and after his retirement for nearly forty years until his death.
0602