George Washington's ancestral home in England

Sulgrave Manor, built between 1540 and 1560, is in Oxfordshire, about 90 miles north of London.

By Susan Spano, Reporting from Sulgrave, England
06:24 PM PDT, October 23, 2009

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It's easy to get lost wandering the back roads in England, which is how I found Sulgrave Manor.

I knew that the historic home, built between 1540 and 1560 by George Washington's great-great-great-great-great grandfather, was tucked somewhere among the haystacks and cow pastures of Oxfordshire, about 90 miles north of London. But it wasn't until I saw the sign for Sulgrave village that I realized I was here.

I parked by the gray limestone wall that surrounds the modest house and gardens, but the front gate was locked. Without expecting an answer, I rang the bell and was greeted by Wendy Barnes, the site's friendly director. Trailed by her little dog, she opened up and showed me around the house, which is owned jointly by the people of Britain and the United States.

The house was built by Lawrence Washington (spelled "Wessington" at the time), a wool merchant from the town of Northampton, soon after his marriage to Amy Tomson. The manor had long been church property, but Washington bought it from the crown around the time Henry VIII clashed with Rome, dissolved England's monasteries and appropriated their assets.

Three generations of Washingtons lived here before Sulgrave's sale in 1659, but the house gradually went to seed until the 1914 anniversary of the Treaty of Ghent that mended fences between England and the U.S. after the War of 1812. A subscription drive partly sponsored by King George V allowed for Sulgrave's purchase, and the Colonial Dames of America raised further funds to restore the house. It opened to the public in 1921, a testament to the two nations' enduring friendship.

When visitors arrive, Barnes said, her job is "to radiate good will."

Immaculately kept Sulgrave Manor does that in full measure, beginning with the grounds, conceived to recall gardens on working farms in the northern neck of Virginia, including Pope's Creek Plantation, where America's first president was born in 1732. You'll find a small apple orchard, a formal knot garden, rose parterres; beds of bushy, aromatic lavender, prim clipped boxwood borders, an English Herb Society garden and a courtyard with a bronze bust of George Washington, given to Sulgrave by George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Inside, the Great Hall showcases Elizabethan-era furniture, oak beams, stone flooring and a yawning fireplace, with a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington above the mantel. The Oak Parlor has a tall case clock and walnut-inlaid spinet, both dating from the first part of the 18th century.

But best of all, I decided, is the canopied four-poster bed in the Great Chamber, hung with green velvet embroidered by volunteers from England and the U.S.

Given Sulgrave's attractions, I had to ask Barnes why the Washingtons ever left England. The family, she explained, sided with the king during the English Civil Wars, losing status and sinecures when the Royalists lost to Parliamentarians in 1651. Five years later, John Washington emigrated to Virginia, and, of course, the rest is history.

Sulgrave Manor, Manor Road, Sulgrave (near Banbury), Oxfordshire, Britain OX17 2SD; 011-44-1295-760-205, www.sulgravemanor.org.uk.

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