Lending a Hand » How can you help and why should you?

Sulgrave Manor is a very fortunate house. Many similar estates, dependent on agriculture, have disappeared over the last two hundred years. The Manor went downhill too and was described in 1890 as "a place that has lost its ancient dignity, and is now frowsy and neglected" with "nettles, docks and thistles as the only things that flourish."

The Manor was rescued in the early 20th century by gifts from the public on both sides of the Atlantic because it is the home of the ancestors of the first President of the United States. Thanks to the generosity of many individuals and of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, the house was refurbished and refurnished as a permanent memorial to the network of links of family, friendship, experience, values and philosophy that bind the peoples of the United Kingdom and the United States together.

Open to the public since 1921, Sulgrave Manor has to earn its own living – a struggle which continues today. Even continuing generous support from the National Society of Colonial Dames of America can not provide a secure future. With a small, dedicated staff, the Manor strives to bridge the budgetary gap which faces all houses of this type.

Held in trust for the peoples of the United Kingdom and the United States, Sulgrave Manor is entirely independent, backed by no governmental or other large organisational funds.