Find out what a troop of monkeys are doing in an elegant tearoom.

Saint Hill Manor in East Sussex in the UK is considered to be one of the finest sandstone buildings in the county, but it’s much better known for its connection with L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who bought the estate from the Maharajah of Jaipur in 1959 and made it his family home for nearly 10 years before returning to America.

The Orangery

Saint Hill Manor

Hubbard was also an explorer, a master mariner, a talented photographer and the author of more than 500 published works of fiction and non-fiction. The Saint Hill library has copies of them all. Hubbard went to great lengths to restore Saint Hill which is still in beautiful condition today. 

A remarkable and unique feature of the house is the Monkey Room.  The murals were commissioned in 1945 by the wife of an American ambassador who wanted a conversation piece to amuse her guests. She certainly got it. Her chosen artist was John Spencer Churchill, nephew of Sir Winston Churchill, who spent months studying the monkeys at London zoo before he picked up his brush. The result is a delightful, mischievous work where, as Churchill said: Much as I tried the help it happening, the monkeys resemble human beings.

The artist's parents, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough!

The artist's uncle, Sir Winston Churchill.

I leave it up to you to decide whether you believe that was true or whether an impish nature got away with him. The room has had a variety for uses from dining room to cinema room. It’s now the most charming tea room I’ve ever had the pleasure of sipping a cup of Earl Grey in.

The Tea Room (Many famous people and politicians of the day featured on its walls  as well as the artist's relations.)

L Ron Hubbard's study