Danny House, Hurstpierpoint - where Lloyd George signed the Armistice agreement in 1918
By Michèle Copeland
Danny - we all hear the name or references to it, but how many of us have been to Danny House?
Danny is an impressive and stunning country home of the first Elizabethan age, nestled at the bottom of the South Downs at Wolstonbury Hill, south of Hurstpierpoint. It has stood the passage of time - some seven centuries - as the home of the Campion family, who played major parts in the area’s domestic and imperial history in their time, as well as housing leaders of our nation, at difficult times.
One of those most recent events was in 1918, when Prime Minister Lloyd George stayed there alongside his wife and his secretary Miss Stevenson - his reputedly ailing mistress. Danny House and its village was chosen not only to become a temporary office of the War Cabinet, between July and November 1918, but David Lloyd George’s country home.
“He effectively lived there with his family, the newspaper barons of the time, and war leaders for several months,” says Richard Burrows, today’s owner of Danny House.
[Taken from a full article published in August 2018's Hurst Life magazine]
“I would really love to re-enact The 1918 Lloyd George Garden Party, to celebrate the Armistice centenary of 1918. It would really be great if people could attend this event in period costume of the 1920s, with dancers or dancing groups to lead the way,” he says.
The famous Alex Mendham 11 piece orchestra (who have played to royalty all over the world) and the Hot Rhythm Orchestra (who headline the Goodwood Revival) will be present, as well as the well-known vintage Harris funfair and WWI re-enactors. Enjoy Pimms and tea on the lawn and mingle with actors dressed like celebrities of the time, such as Lloyd George, Bonar Law, and Arthur Balfour – we can all re-enact history!
The 1918 Lloyd George Garden Party is on 2nd September 2018. It will open at 2pm and finish at 6pm.
Ticket prices are £5 a head and £20 for a family ticket and can be bought via the Hurst Festival website.