Syon’s role in the shaping of North America

About the talk

Starting with the 16th century Elizabethan Council of State held at Syon House that saw the creation of the colony of Virginia and followed by the 17th century establishment of Jamestown as the capital and the governorship of George Percy ( younger brother of the 9th Earl of Northumberland)  during the “starving times” with the subsequent visit of Pocahontas to England to promote the colony where she stayed at Syon and was visited by King James 1 and his wife Queen Anne of Denmark.

The second stage saw the meeting at Syon where Prince Rupert petitioned King Charles 11 for the future role of the Hudson Bay Company and its monopoly in the vast territory that became known as Prince Rupert’s Land and eventually Canada. Trees, plants and Canada Geese subsequently came to the gardens at Syon!

The third stage in the 18th century saw Henry Percy the second Duke of Northumberland serving as a general in the British Army during the American War of Independence. From playing a key role in the opening events at Lexington and Concord in 1775 with “the shot heard round the world” he went on to create lasting relationships with major Native American chieftains such as the Andenaga or Joseph Brant who visited Britain, met King George III, and stayed at Syon where his portrait still hangs today.

The linkages of Syon with the newly formed United States continued into the 19th century with the close friendship of the second Duke with John Norton a remarkable man of mixed Native American and Scottish heritage. Norton navigated the entire 850-mile length of the Ohio River in 1809 and authored a book about his travels, the flors and fauna which he dedicated to the second Duke.

In truth Norton was an officer in the British Indian Department and his trip was a military reconnaissance and intelligence gathering exercise and when the United States declared war on Britain in 1812 and invaded Canada he came to play a leading role in defeating the American forces. In 2012 when Canada commemorated the War of 1812 as hugely significant in the creation of modern Canada the Post Office printed as a celebratory stamp of the portrait of John Norton which hangs at Syon House. The Canadians regard him as a freedom fighter and the Americans as a terrorist! The Duke and Norton were great friends, and he stayed several times at Syon while he and the 2nd Duke were highly active in the anti slavery and abolitionist movement.

Finally, when serving as the United States Ambassador to Britain and staying at his rented house in Brentford John Quincey Adams who was to become President of the United States was a regular visitor to Syon to discuss the main matters of the day.

About the speaker

​Howard Simmons has been one of the professional heritage guides at Syon House for the past 10 years. Outside of this, he has held positions as Director of Cultural Services in a number of London Boroughs, including Hounslow, where he then became Assistant Chief Executive. Howard played a key role in the creation of the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust and the Gunnersbury Museum and Park Development Trust. He is currently an Assistant Commissioner at the Boundary Commission for England and has just completed a term as a Commissioner for Civil Aviation with responsibility for Heathrow. Howard is active in several local history societies as well as The Battlefields Trust.