To avoid giving a linear progression through the site, we have created this page to allow visitors to travel around the site, picking up on those topics which they want to know more about — or to discover the unexpected.
The broad groupings fall into six categories:
The house and grounds
A brief history of the Nelthorpes
A chronology of the baronetcies
The oddball members of the family
Period photographs
The art and artifacts
Hopefully, this will make the journey more rewarding and entertaining.
Since Scawby Gardens operates as a separate entity and is open during the week all year round, it has its own website which gives a much more detailed picture of what it looks like and how it works. For further information, please go to:
The early years, between 1580 and 1640, cover the period when Richard Nelthorpe (1569—1640) established the Scawby branch of the Nelthorpe family and began the construcion of Scawby Hall. The abbreviated family tree on the Lineage page traces the Nelthorpes over the last 500 years.
The story of the next two centuries is essentially the story of the eight baronets over a 200 year period. With the death of the 8th and last baronet, Sir John, and the end of the Nelthorpe family name, the Sutton family takes over during the middle years of Queen Victoria’s reign. This is covered in The Victorians and is amplified by photographs of the period featuring both the inhabitants of the Hall and the workers on the estate.
Whilst none of these could be described as freaks or misfits, they are certainly out of the ordinary and deserve their own pages.
The first is Richard Nelthorpe of Little Grimsby, executed in 1685 for his part in the Rye House Plot. Next up is the Rev Robert Carter Thelwall who had a surreal approach to his funeral arrangements, followed by Henry Nelthorpe (1820—60) with his wanderlust and military service. Number 4 is Robert Nassau Sutton-Nelthorpe, who led a varied and interesting life. Finally, we have “One-Arm Sutton” whose life verges on the surreal.
Sir John, 1st Bt, (1614—1669)
Sir Goddard, 2nd Bt, (1630—1703)
Sir Montague, 3rd Bt, (1696—1721)
Sir Henry, 4th Bt, (1717—1728)
Sir Henry, 5th Bt, (1697—1746)
Sir John, 6th Bt, (1744—1799)
Sir Henry, 7th Bt, (1773—1830)
Sir John, 8th Bt, (1814—1865)
