Sunnycroft house

View of house at Sunnycroft | © NationalTrust/Jayne Gough

Sunnycroft is small in size but was designed to impress. This suburban villa was built by the emerging middle class in an industrial society to emulate the country houses and estates of the landed gentry, but on a much smaller scale. Explore the life and style of this new class of businessmen and women.

A brief history

Sunnycroft was originally built by brewer J.G Wackrill on three acres of land on a modest scale in 1879. The house was extended in 1899 to its present layout by Mary Jane Slaney, a local wine and spirit merchant.

In 1912, it was bought by J.V.T. Lander and stayed with the Lander family until 1997 when it was bequeathed to the National Trust. Apart from the installation of electricity, very little has changed since Mary Jane Slaney completed the house.

Built to last

The interior still has its original fixtures and fittings including radiators, gas lamps, floors and fireplaces. Each fixture and fitting was chosen for their solid nature, good-quality materials, and picked from reputable companies.

Built to impress

As you enter through the front door you are greeted with a Maws & Co. tiled floor that leads into the Staircase Hall. The impressive hand painted glass skylight draws in natural light to this room.

The Staircase Hall at Sunnycroft, Shropshire | © National Trust Images/John Millar

Built to entertain

Mary Jane Slaney transformed J. G. Wackrill's modest family home into a place to entertain. She altered the original drawing room and added billiard and dining rooms.

Nothing was thrown away

Over the next 100 years very little was discarded. Sunnycroft today is home to over 12,000 objects ranging from domestic appliances to everyday items.

Noteably, the medicine cabinet is filled with remedies from the last century.