LMH alumnus Tim Ashton (2005, Jurisprudence) has joined historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook on The Rest Is History to discuss new research into Soulton Hall, his family home, and the possibility that religious objects removed during the Reformation were preserved there.
LMH alumnus Tim Ashton (2005, Jurisprudence) has joined historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook on The Rest Is History to discuss new research into Soulton Hall, his family home, which suggests that important religious objects from before the Reformation may have survived there for almost 500 years.
The research, led by heritage consultants James Wenn and James Syrett of Byrga Geniht, centres on what happened to religious objects during the Reformation, when churches across England were stripped of images, relics and furnishings.
One of the figures at the centre of the story is Saint Erkenwald, a seventh-century Bishop of London. Erkenwald was an important early Christian figure in London, and researchers at Soulton are investigating whether material connected with him may have survived at the house.
One clue is an altar stone at Soulton whose dimensions correspond to those of the medieval High Altar at Old St Paul’s Cathedral. The research suggests that Sir Rowland Hill, who built Soulton Hall and was involved in the dismantling of the altar, may have preserved some of the material at his new home rather than allowing it to be destroyed or dispersed.
The evidence is still being investigated. Alongside the altar stone, the team is examining architectural and archaeological features at Soulton which may help to explain what happened to religious objects during this period.
The story has a legal dimension too. Sir Rowland Hill was involved in the 1542 Ferrers’ Case, when MP George Ferrers was arrested in London. The dispute became an important episode in the development of parliamentary privilege: the idea that Parliament and its members should have certain protections from interference by the authorities.
That connection was explored further at Soulton Hall in April, when Lady Arden of Heswall, former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, gave a lecture on Magna Carta. Former Supreme Court Deputy President Lord Mance was also in attendance.
For Tim, these connections offer a new way of looking at a familiar place. What might initially seem like a story about one Tudor house opens onto bigger questions about what survived the Reformation, and how religious and legal change shaped England.
The story has now reached an international audience through The Rest Is History. During the episode, Tom Holland described the discoveries as an “amazing ongoing process of discovery”, while suggesting that further surprises may remain to be uncovered at Soulton Hall.
The podcast episode is available now on major podcast platforms.
