Museum of…
Louise Gray delves behind the spooky happenings that make this Edwardian country house such a popular destination
Where Preston Manor is in Preston village, which is part of the city of Brighton & Hove, two miles north of the city centre.
What “Preston Manor is an Edwardian country house in miniature, with a manor house and gardens reflecting life upstairs and downstairs before and after the first world war,” says the site’s venue officer, Paula Wrightson. “The house has 63 acres of parkland, an adjoining medieval parish church, croquet, tennis and bowls clubs, and Britain’s largest municipal rock garden. There’s even a Victorian velodrome on the doorstep.”
Opened The house was gifted to Brighton on the death of its last owner, Sir Charles Thomas-Stanford. It opened to the public as a museum in 1933.
Collection “We have more than 20 rooms over four floors: from basement servants’ quarters, including a Victorian kitchen and butler’s pantry, to elegant, furnished reception rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms,” Wrightson says. “The decor and content of these are largely untouched since the last private owners left in 1932. The gardens contain a pet cemetery with poignantly worded gravestones.”
Highlights Wrightson says visitors most enjoy seeing the servants’ quarters, especially the basement kitchens, servants’ hall and boot hall that were opened in the 1980s. These rooms are used for a popular school role-playing session: a living-history experience that has been running for more than 25 years, where children and teachers live a day in the life of an 1897 servant.
Spooky bit “Preston Manor has become well known for its supernatural links,” Wrightson says. “Ghosts, including the White Lady, and other paranormal phenomena have been documented in the house since the 1880s.” Seances were held by the Victorian owners to get to the bottom of all this: the museum even holds a transcript of an 1886 seance in its collection. A medium received messages from a nun who said she had been denied a proper burial. Soon after, the owners found a 400-year-old skeleton under the terrace. In April 2016, the manor opened a display of one of its newest collections – artefacts and manuscripts belonging to Doreen Valiente (1922-99) of Brighton, who has been described as the mother of modern witchcraft.
Help at hand One full-time venue officer, a part-time development and operations manager, one duty manager with a team of visitor services officers, and a group of freelance role-play learning assistants. Budget Adults pay £6.60. Local residents can get a History Pass (£15 adult) that gives a year’s admission to the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and the manor.
Sticky moment “My oddest moment was on Halloween 10 years ago, when I was dressed as the ghost of the White Lady for a tour,” Wrightson says.
“I had to get across the house unseen by visitors. Being new to Preston Manor, I thought, ‘I must be crazy doing this’, as I ran along dark corridors and rooms, dreading bumping into the real White Lady or her spirit-world associates. Most staff report having had a supernatural experience and, even as a sceptic, you wonder: ‘Will I be next?’”
Visitors 19,665 between April 2015 and February 2016 – “8,000 more than our target”.
Future plans The manor is focusing on increasing visitor numbers with varied activities, such as decking out the house and staff as a Victorian house in mourning, hosting murder mystery nights and telling sentimental tales of Edwardian dogs in the pet cemetery. It also plans to increase its work with special-interest groups to build Preston Manor’s role as the hub of local community life.
www.brightonmuseums.org
What “Preston Manor is an Edwardian country house in miniature, with a manor house and gardens reflecting life upstairs and downstairs before and after the first world war,” says the site’s venue officer, Paula Wrightson. “The house has 63 acres of parkland, an adjoining medieval parish church, croquet, tennis and bowls clubs, and Britain’s largest municipal rock garden. There’s even a Victorian velodrome on the doorstep.”
Opened The house was gifted to Brighton on the death of its last owner, Sir Charles Thomas-Stanford. It opened to the public as a museum in 1933.
Collection “We have more than 20 rooms over four floors: from basement servants’ quarters, including a Victorian kitchen and butler’s pantry, to elegant, furnished reception rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms,” Wrightson says. “The decor and content of these are largely untouched since the last private owners left in 1932. The gardens contain a pet cemetery with poignantly worded gravestones.”
Highlights Wrightson says visitors most enjoy seeing the servants’ quarters, especially the basement kitchens, servants’ hall and boot hall that were opened in the 1980s. These rooms are used for a popular school role-playing session: a living-history experience that has been running for more than 25 years, where children and teachers live a day in the life of an 1897 servant.
Spooky bit “Preston Manor has become well known for its supernatural links,” Wrightson says. “Ghosts, including the White Lady, and other paranormal phenomena have been documented in the house since the 1880s.” Seances were held by the Victorian owners to get to the bottom of all this: the museum even holds a transcript of an 1886 seance in its collection. A medium received messages from a nun who said she had been denied a proper burial. Soon after, the owners found a 400-year-old skeleton under the terrace. In April 2016, the manor opened a display of one of its newest collections – artefacts and manuscripts belonging to Doreen Valiente (1922-99) of Brighton, who has been described as the mother of modern witchcraft.
Help at hand One full-time venue officer, a part-time development and operations manager, one duty manager with a team of visitor services officers, and a group of freelance role-play learning assistants. Budget Adults pay £6.60. Local residents can get a History Pass (£15 adult) that gives a year’s admission to the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and the manor.
Sticky moment “My oddest moment was on Halloween 10 years ago, when I was dressed as the ghost of the White Lady for a tour,” Wrightson says.
“I had to get across the house unseen by visitors. Being new to Preston Manor, I thought, ‘I must be crazy doing this’, as I ran along dark corridors and rooms, dreading bumping into the real White Lady or her spirit-world associates. Most staff report having had a supernatural experience and, even as a sceptic, you wonder: ‘Will I be next?’”
Visitors 19,665 between April 2015 and February 2016 – “8,000 more than our target”.
Future plans The manor is focusing on increasing visitor numbers with varied activities, such as decking out the house and staff as a Victorian house in mourning, hosting murder mystery nights and telling sentimental tales of Edwardian dogs in the pet cemetery. It also plans to increase its work with special-interest groups to build Preston Manor’s role as the hub of local community life.
www.brightonmuseums.org