At Home in Whitehall:
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
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At Home in Whitehall
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
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Copyright London Borough of Sutton and Sutton Mencap, all rights reserved The rights of authors of this work, and individually for their own contributions, has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Images of the Killick family and Whitehall Historic House courtesy London Borough of Sutton Archive & Heritage Service ISBN: 978-0-9955384-5-0
At Home in Whitehall:
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
Contents Preface
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500 years of Whitehall
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At Home in Whitehall
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Making Ourselves At Home
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The Great Whitehall Ghost Mystery Story
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At Home in Whitehall
Preface
by Councillor Nali Patel I have been accorded with a great opportunity to write an introduction for this book. I am indeed overwhelmed and say a big Thank You. Each individual no matter the colour or religion they belong to, has a lot to offer and contribute to make this world a beautiful place to live in. I am Indian, Hindu, disabled, and an elected councillor of the London Borough of Sutton. The love and respect I am receiving all around me, along with needed assistance proves that Sutton is a very helpful and diverse Borough. Nothing can be achieved single-handedly. The involvement of different communities representing
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diverse voices will crown Sutton to lead in heritage and wider projects more effectively. The race between abled and disabled can only be narrowed when put on a common platform and handled equally. Sutton Cultural Services are working to provide a conducive platform for those living with different forms of disability, proving that disability is not inability. Sutton Mencap work hard to organise activities for residents living with different learning disabilities. I am certain this book will provide a rewarding ground in making Sutton the best place to live in.
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
500 years of Whitehall Can you imagine living in a 500-year-old house? What would it be like to live surrounded by so much history? Whitehall Historic House in Cheam is one of the oldest and most important buildings in Sutton. Its original use is still debated: some say that it started out as a farmhouse. Research suggests that a little later, by 1644 the house became the original location for Cheam School. According to local legend it even has a royal connection: did Queen Elizabeth I hold a meeting of her advisors there during a hunting trip to nearby Nonsuch Palace? Between 1742 and 1963 Whitehall was home to the Killick family, a very long time for a house to belong to just one family. The last descendant of the family sold the house to the Borough of Sutton and Cheam, as it was called then. Whitehall Historic House began its new life as a museum in 1978. In early 2020, Sutton Mencap imagined how life would be in this extraordinary building. This book is a collection of drawings, collages and stories depicting Whitehall as a lively — and possibly haunted — home in 2020.
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At Home in Whitehall
At Home in Whitehall: An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House At Home in Whitehall is a collection of collages and drawings produced by Sutton Mencap, inspired by their experience of Whitehall Historic House. These were created over four workshops: over the weeks, we imagined ourselves as residents of Whitehall; we explored the Killick family who lived in Whitehall for 200 years; we even played music and created a story about ghosts and love - featuring all sorts of plot twists!
At Home in Whitehall was produced as part of Know Our Place: Saving and Sharing Whitehall, a wider project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the London Borough of Sutton and the Friends of Whitehall.
The book is divided in two parts, following the progression of the workshops. The first part features work inspired by objects -both objects found in the museum or brought from home- and photography. The second part comprises The Great Whitehall Ghost Mystery Story: a story put together and illustrated by project participants in our final session.
Project officer: Marina Maniadaki
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Project participants: Allana, Ben, Ben B, Charlie, David, Eloise, Gemma Grey, Gary, Ellie H, Julia, Nijan Kunalan, Laura Mitchell, Robert Schiavetta, Sammie, Tammy
Project facilitator: Richard Neville Project volunteer: Lois South
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
Making Ourselves At Home
In our early sessions, we explored different rooms and spaces around Whitehall - from what used to be the Parlour, to the Attics, and the Garden. We set our base in the Activity Room and started by drawing objects that drew our attention while exploring. We then brought and photographed our own objects from home and imagined how these would be placed around Whitehall if we lived here. We looked at the Killick family albums and talked about life in Cheam through the centuries. Finally, we brought everything together by creating collages and drawings.
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At Home in Whitehall
Collage and drawing by Gemma, featuring the medieval skull found in the Parlour - here seen enjoying some cereal from the breakfast bowl she brought.
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
Collage and drawing by Gary, featuring his mug, the saddle found in the Attic, Jake the horse and a boy playing tennis in Whitehall’s Garden in the early 20th century.
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At Home in Whitehall
Robert’s collage features objects found in the Attic, ex-residents pets included - and the ghost skeleton haunting the Parlour...
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
David brought together a suitcase and cricket bat found in the Attics, displays from the Nonsuch Room and the pan he brought from home - where we “cooked� a meal to share with the skeleton.
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At Home in Whitehall
Ellie kept meticulous notes about everything we saw and did in Whitehall - she brought her notebook upstairs in the Attics, in the room currently dedicated to writer and merchant James Boevey.
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
Nijan created a Whitehall’s own version of ‘Starry Night’ - adding the vintage mobile phone he brought from home. In the image he chose, we can see the back of Whitehall and the Tearoom Door.
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At Home in Whitehall
Ben combined the porcelain dog figure he brought with the dogs often found in the old family albums - you can also spot some of the curiosities found in the Attics and lots of different hats!
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
Laura brought together her favourite gadgets that she uses to watch films and TV series and an archival image of furniture that used to be in the Attic.
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At Home in Whitehall
The Great Whitehall Ghost Mystery Story
In our final meeting at Whitehall, we talked about everything we have done so far - and decided to create and star in our own story taking place in our new home. We were inspired by adventure and action films, but most importantly by our previous explorations and experiences of the house. The story you are about to read was created through play and live reenactment, and then illustrated.
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An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
We are in Whitehall’s Parlour and a bad guy has got into the house. It’s Laura - and she’s got a gun! Tammy comes to arrest her and take her to prison.
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At Home in Whitehall
Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. There’s no one there…it must be a ghost! “The ghost is a dark shadow…you can’t see it…you don’t know if it’s there” said Robert. The ghost has to be defeated - but only the bad guy can do it! We decide to let Laura out of prison.
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
Laura leads everyone on the search for the ghost. “Come on, I‘ve got a gun!” she shouts. We all go looking for the ghost in Whitehall. First we search the Tudor Hall. Is it in the fireplace? Under the table? It’s gone again!
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At Home in Whitehall
“Let’s look in the Attic!” suggests Ellie. Laura leads us all upstairs. We get to the first floor - and we then reach the attic.
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
We look around the attic: we look in the corners, then up into the rafters. Then we hear a sound - it’s an owl! “Let’s give it some meat” Gary says. “The ghost isn’t here” Ben says.
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At Home in Whitehall
Suddenly, we hear some noises coming from downstairs - the ghost must be in the Activity Room! When we get there Julia says: “It’s cold here, that means there’s a ghost!” “I can hear some noises coming from over there!” says David, pointing at a board by the wall. There is something standing behind it!
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
“Look, it’s Laura!” David says. Laura comes out from behind the board, and the mystery is solved. Laura is the ghost! “I‘ve got a gun! Give me your money and your phones!” she says. “Laura, we‘ll give you a flower instead!” we say. “We will buy you a ticket to go to Australia, Business Class!”
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At Home in Whitehall
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
Laura starts to smile and says: “I will give you my heart�.
The story ends - everyone has become friends in Whitehall!
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At Home in Whitehall
An Alternative Guide to Whitehall Historic House
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Can you imagine living in a 500-year old house? Built around 1500, Whitehall is one of the oldest and most important buildings in Sutton. Its original use is still debated, and in 1978, Whitehall Historic House opened its doors as a museum. Members of Sutton Mencap have imagined what life might be like in this extraordinary building today. This book is a collection of their drawings, collages, and stories, depicting Whitehall as a home in 2020.
