By David Page, Research Consultant
Sir Philip Sassoon (1888 – 1939) was a famous host, politician and art collector during the interwar period. He used his inherited wealth to create three extraordinary houses and gardens - 25 Park Lane in central London, Trent Park and Port Lympne near Folkestone in Kent - where he entertained every leading figure of the day, from royalty to celebrities, from politicians to aristocrats, to position himself at the heart of the establishment and as one of the greatest hosts of his generation. His life and activities were covered extensively in newspapers at the time – he was a well-known figure. But he died young, aged only fifty, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. By the end of the War, the world of Philip Sassoon barely existed and his memory was all but extinguished.
Almost none of his papers and diaries survived. This was likely a deliberate act. He may have destroyed some of them himself, during his illness in the weeks leading up to his death. Certainly, his friend and frequent guest Alice Dudeney wrote in her diary on 25 April 1940 that she intended to “burn the lot” of his letters. His sister, Sybil, is known to have destroyed the correspondence that she had. This may have been as a result of the publication of Cecil Roth’s 1941 biography of the Sassoons, for which both Dudeney and Sybil had contributed, but which was harsh in its assessment of Philip and not at all to Sybil’s liking. Perhaps they wanted to stop further biographical criticism. But it was also likely in order to hide any posthumous reference or speculation about Philip’s sexuality and lifestyle. He never married and is widely assumed to have been gay – in an age when homosexuality was still illegal and carried heavy prison sentences. They would not have wanted to damage his reputation – or theirs – if details of his private life were revealed.
With the lack of his own words, how do we start to build a picture of the man and details of his life? We start with archives: many photographs, objects and newspaper cuttings are held by Philip’s great-nephew, Lord Cholmondeley, at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, where Philip’s sister Sybil spent much of her married life. The National Archives, Parliamentary Archive, the Royal Archives and those of the Prime Ministers he served or knew - Balfour, Lloyd George, Baldwin, Churchill, Eden - all contain references and information on Sassoon and his role both in politics and society. Newspaper and magazine archives are another key source: the main newspapers of the day, including The Times and The Daily Express covered Philip’s life and activities frequently on a national basis; and regional and local newspapers – in those days as widely read as the national papers – also covered Philip extensively. This is especially true for Kent where his use of Port Lympne for informal conferences after World War I between the British and French governments were of national importance and where he was MP. His lifetime activities and his death received numerous articles.
In an age of writing (no computers, no internet, no social media) most of his contemporaries kept memoirs, diaries and papers. The Prime Ministers he served, other hosts, political and society figures of the day including Henry ‘Chips’ Channon, Lord Beaverbrook, Frances Lloyd George, Sir Samuel Hoare and Robert Boothby all make reference to Philip - some in great detail - albeit often with the diarist’s own views and opinions – just like diarists today. Magazines including The Tatler, Bystander, The Sphere and Country Life - some still existing, others not - give huge visual insight into the world Philip created, both his houses and the life he lived.
All of these sources have been used extensively by biographers. There are several biographies of the Sassoon family, including sections on Philip, starting with Cecil Roth’s in 1941 through to The Sassoons by Ester da Costa Meyer and Claudia J. Nahson in 2023. Peter Stansky’s biography of Philip & Sybil in 2001 concentrated on the siblings, whilst Damian Collins focused purely on Philip in 2016. And my own 2024 Masters, The Houses of Sir Philip Sassoon, 1912-1939, contains large amounts of information from these sources.
We are drawing on all these sources to represent Philip as accurately as possible in the Trent Park House Museum - showing his political, social and cultural activities. As to what he was actually like as a person, we can speculate and make educated assumptions, although we can never truly know.
He seemed to belong to some brilliant order of being … rare and unlike others, obedient to his own rules and logic.
His lifelong friend Osbert Sitwell wrote in a tribute in The Times on his death in 1939. Philip remains somewhat of an enigma to this day.
