Sulhamstead House
| Sulhamstead House | |
| Berkshire | |
|---|---|
 Sulhamstead House | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU64116930 |
| Location: | 51°25’9"N, 1°4’46"W |
| History | |
| Built 1744 | |
| For: | Daniel May |
| Country house | |
| Neo-classical | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Converted to a museum |
| Owned by: | Thames Valley Constabulary |
Sulhamstead House, commonly known as the White House, and now the Thames Valley Police Museum is found outside the village of Sulhamstead in Berkshire.
This was the manor house of Sulhamstead Abbots. It was built by Daniel May, son of the Basingstoke brewer, Charles May, in 1744, becoming home to his sister's descendants, the Thoyts family.
The house was largely rebuilt in 1800 for William Thoyts, the High Sheriff of Berkshire. It was the childhood home of his great granddaughter, Berkshire historian and palaeographer, Emma Elizabeth Thoyts (1860–1949).[1] It refurbishment was paid for in 1910 by William G Watson, created a baronet (territorial designation: of Sulhamstead). The baronetcy is extinct.
In 1949, the house became the headquarters of the Berkshire Constabulary. Since their merger into Thames Valley Police, it has functioned as that force's training centre and houses the Thames Valley Police Museum. It is a Grade-II listed building.[2]
Thames Valley Police Museum
The Thames Valley Police Museum is located within Sulhamstead House, which was formerly the headquarters of the Berkshire Constabulary. The museum is open by appointment.
The museum includes displays on the history of Thames Valley Police and the five police forces that were amalgamated to form the force in 1968; the Buckinghamshire Constabulary, the Berkshire Constabulary, Oxford City Police, the Oxfordshire Constabulary and the Reading Borough Police. The museum's collections include items from the Great Train Robbery of 1963, uniforms, equipment, medals, photographs, scenes of crime evidence, and occurrence and charge books.
Outside links
References
- ↑ Ford, David Nash. "Sulhamstead House". May Family History. http://www.mayfamilyhistory.co.uk/places/sulhse_eet.html. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1117110: Thames Valley Police Training College (Sulhamstead House) (Grade II listing)