With nearly half a century of loyal service
that has spanned the miles from St Helena in the South Atlantic
Ocean to The Mansion House at Old Warden Park, Cyril Thomas has an
intriguing story to tell. He is the one person remaining at
The Mansion House who has memories of a life in service nearly 50
years ago and the history of this fascinating house. The
walls may not be able to speak to visitors but Cyril Thomas does as
he takes them on guided tours of The Mansion House.
Cyril's life at The Mansion House began when,
at the age of 18, he answered an advertisement in St Helena for
staff to work for the Shuttleworth family at the Mansion
House. He then began a journey that took him from his home in
St Helena, one of the remotest tropical islands in the world, to
Bedfordshire.
Leaving the sunshine of his island home in
December 1963 he set off on an adventure that took him across the
ocean to the smog-bound port of Southampton and on by train to
Bedfordshire.
As footman to Mrs Dorothy Shuttleworth he
learnt his skills from the old retainers that could have come from
the TV series “Upstairs Downstairs”.
Cyril explains: “Arriving at The Mansion
House was a daunting experience and took me some time to get used
to my new life. I always had the greatest respect for Mrs
Dorothy Shuttleworth who showed me real kindness and gave me every
opportunity to do well. For instance she encouraged me to
drive, providing me with driving lessons, and had every confidence
in my driving abilities. Visitors to The Mansion house were
often shocked when the young footman offered to drive their
magnificent cars!”
“Looking back on my life here, I feel
fortunate to have worked for Mrs Shuttleworth, who really was the
lady of the house. When I arrived she had already set up the
Shuttleworth Trust, with students of the agricultural college
studying and living at The Mansion House. The staff I have
known over the years have been dedicated to their work here and
that is still true today.”
“I have lived through many changes at The
Mansion House but the grandeur and heart of the house remains to
this day. Mrs Shuttleworth wanted the house and the trust to
live on into the future and in her lifetime saw it used in the
Second World War as a convalescent home for the Red Cross and since
1946 as an agricultural college. I think she would be
delighted to see that The Mansion House today is full of life with
people continuing to benefit from the trust that she set up in
1944.”
Over the years Cyril has worked in various
jobs at The Mansion House and Shuttleworth College and is currently
caretaker and more importantly a great fund of knowledge on the
history of the house and college.
Last year Cyril and his wife went back to St
Helena for the first time since leaving. He received the
warmest welcome as a “saint”, the name St Helenians use to describe
themselves. He filmed his visit and can now share those
memories with his family (two children and two grandchildren) at
home in Old Warden.
If you want to know what life has been like at
The Mansion House from the days of old retainers to the present day
where people meet to have conferences, weddings, celebrations,
events, accommodation and meals and much more, then arrange a visit
and meet Cyril who is the memory bank of the last 50 years at this
beautiful country house.