It is one of the most impressive stately homes in the country: a 106-room mansion that attracts thousands of visitors each year to admire its architectural history.
But now Houghton Hall, family seat of David Cholmondeley, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, is under scrutiny by Chinese internet sleuths who claim the Neo-Palladian pile contains ancient valuables looted from the Qing dynasty.
Images of the Grade I listed house, commissioned by Sir Robert Walpole in 1722, have gone viral on social media sites, despite assurances from the estate that no items among the Hall’s contents had been stolen.
In China, armchair detectives have taken to TikTok to accuse the Marquess, 63, and his wife Rose Hanbury, 40, neighbors of the Prince and Princess of Wales, of living off the looted loot they inherited from their illustrious ancestors, the Sassoons.
Nicknamed “the Rothschilds of the East,” the Sassoon family amassed a fortune trading textiles, tea and opium in India and China in the 19th century.
Houghton Hall, family seat of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, is under scrutiny by Chinese internet sleuths
Armchair detectives took to TikTok to accuse the marquess, 63, and his wife Rose Hanbury (pictured) of living off looted loot.
The height of his business coincided with China’s “century of humiliation” from 1839 to 1945, where millions of valuable artifacts were looted by British and French soldiers. The Qing dynasty lasted from 1644 to 1911.
Identifying which items from this era were stolen and which were acquired legally is difficult, but that has not stopped unfounded accusations being made against the Cholmondeleys.
One person on Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like site, shared images from inside the Hall and said: “The Sassoons began accumulating their wealth by plundering late Qing China.”
Internet sleuths have pored over photo shoots of the Marquess and Marchioness in Vanity Fair and W magazines showing their palatial home in north Norfolk, four miles from Anmer Hall, William and Kate’s country home.
They have focused on various furniture elements including a screen adorned with mountains and cranes. “These cultural relics not only represent the history and culture of our nation, but are the wisdom and hard work of our ancestors,” said TikTok user Cathy Chen.
While David, the current marquess, is descended from the Sassoons through his father, the estate said the items in question were not heirlooms passed down through his family.
A spokesperson for Houghton Hall said: “The items of Chinese origin in the photographs you refer to were purchased by the Walpole family, the original owners of Houghton, during the 18th century, in the mid-Qing dynasty, mainly through of agents and not directly in China”. .
Internet sleuths have zeroed in on several pieces of furniture, including a screen adorned with mountains and cranes.
One person on Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like site, shared images from inside the Hall and said: “The Sassoons began accumulating their wealth by plundering late Qing China.”
‘The items were not looted, but were mostly manufactured for export to Europe. It would be difficult to find a country house collection, whether private or owned by the National Trust, that does not display items acquired in or from China. This is true for most European and American collections.
The Sassoons were Jewish bankers from Baghdadi who attracted criticism in China for their role in the opium trade.
Sybil Sassoon, the paternal grandmother of the current Marquess, is credited with modernizing Houghton Hall after marrying George Cholmondeley, the fifth Marquess, in 1913.
His work to expand the Hall’s art collection, which included modern art alongside Old Master paintings, led to him being credited with ushering in “a new golden age for Houghton.”
One commentator noted: “In addition to plenty of cash, the Rothschild and Sassoon families each possessed remarkable knowledge.”