Soil from Washington's ancestral home taken to US

A Tudor manor house in England with links to the first president of the United States is helping to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence.

George Washington's great-grandfather left Sulgrave Manor, Northamptonshire, the family's ancestral home, to settle in the colony of Virginia in the 1600s.

Americans regard George Washington as the "father of the nation", a pivotal figure who helped pave the way for the country to declare its independence from Britain in 1776.

Soil from the grounds of Sulgrave Manor has now been placed in a time capsule that will be installed beneath one of America's most iconic landmarks.

George Washington led American forces to victory against the British in the War of Independence and helped draft the US Constitution before becoming the country's first president in 1788.

According to Gabriella de la Rosa, the curator of Sulgrave Manor, the founding of the United States was also an important moment in British history.

"It meant Britain lost one of its biggest and most significant colonies and dealt a major blow to the British Empire," she said.

By the early 1900s, Britain and the US had been at peace for 100 years. Wealthy donors funded the restoration of Sulgrave Manor as a museum and permanent memorial to the "special relationship" between the two countries.

Unique items on display at Sulgrave include a black frock coat Washington wore as president, his travelling case and a handle from his coffin.

Alison Ray, chief executive of the Sulgrave Manor Trust, said the house was restored "to share the story of our shared history, so we can think about how our shared values resonate with us today".

Sulgrave Manor has also made its own piece of history to mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

According to popular legend, George Washington vowed never to set foot on British soil.

To respect that, his statue in London's Trafalgar Square stands on soil imported from his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia.

John Gerber, president of the Friends of the Washington Statue, raised $1.4m to have the London statue restored and rededicated in summer 2025, but had another plan.

"John has been collecting some clay soil from Sulgrave to put in a time capsule," said Alison Ray.

That capsule will be buried this spring in the plaza beneath the Washington Monument in the US capital, the world's tallest stone structure.

So in one sense, Washington will stand on British soil for the first time.

Some may think that is a controversial move and that Washington's vow should be respected - but Gerber disagrees.

"If you ask the head of Mount Vernon who is a great expert on Washington, he would say that Washington never said that," he said. "But it's a great story!"

Alison Ray believed Washington "would be quite happy to be standing on soil from Sulgrave".

"Even after becoming president, he was very quick to work with Britain and to say that everyone should be friendly and peaceful towards each other," she said.

Gerber added: "Americans love the special relationship between the US and Britain and know the great ties between our countries."

The time capsule was presented to the US government in a special ceremony at Mount Vernon on 7 January, attended by the UK's Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy.

"George Washington was a pioneer, a fighter and a visionary," he said.

"He was absolutely determined that the United States should be independent and free and that is what he achieved.

"I think the idea of a time capsule is very beautiful, because that of course is looking not just to the past but also to the future."

Sulgrave Manor reopens to the public on 30 March.

During the summer it will host a family fun day and a series of conferences, lectures and educational events as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations.

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