Sassoon - A Golden Legacy

Sarah Roller

Sir Philip Sassoon, the last private owner of Trent Park, was the product of two illustrious families – the Sassoons and the Rothschilds. Both families were Jewish émigrés originally, settling in the UK in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Many in British high society saw these families as upstarts and outsiders initially, partly because of their Jewishness and partly because of their status as “new money”. The Rothschilds were bankers, and the Sassoons were involved in a variety of industries – property, shipping, opium and newspapers to name but a few. However, their contributions to art and their refined taste led to their acceptance in social circles, cemented by their friendship with the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.

David Sassoon, Philip’s great grandfather, was born and educated in Baghdad – he moved his growing family to Bombay (now Mumbai) to escape the increasing persecution of the Jewish community in Iraq. Initially setting up as a trader, David spotted a gap in the market when the Treaty of Nanking opened up China to British trade. He essentially started a triangular trade: Lancashire cotton from Britain to India, opium and yarn from India to China, and goods back from China to Britain. His son Elias opened a branch of David Sassoon & Co in Shanghai, followed by branches in Hong Kong and further afield, and the Sassoons made a fortune from their enterprises. As well as becoming immensely wealthy, the Sassoons were also huge philanthropists, donating large sums of money to civic projects in Bombay such as the construction of schools, libraries and other public buildings.

David did not speak English, yet almost all of his sons ended up in England, making their names as socialites as much as businessmen. Albert Sassoon, Philip’s grandfather, became head of the British branch of David Sassoon & Co, residing mainly in Brighton, where he was eventually buried in the Sassoon Mausoleum there.

Philip’s only sister, Sybil, married George Cholmondeley, Earl of Rocksavage – their grandson, the 7th Marquess of Chomondeley, is the joint Chair of Trustees of Trust today. Sotheby’s New York is presenting Sassoon: A Golden Legacy, a major sale of Judaica related to the Sassoon family on Thursday 17th December 2020. The process of restoring the Sassoon-era rooms at Trent Park House to their 1920s glory is currently underway and will form part of the visitor experience when Trent Park House opens to the public (in 2022).

David Sassoon (seated) and his sons Elias David Sassoon, Albert Abdallah David Sassoon & Sassoon David Sassoon (c. 1850)