I thought it would be good in my first blog of the day to tell the fascinating story of the last owner of the hall before it became a care home.
My interest in this story began when I found out that the last private owner had the same surname as myself - Steward. So far I have been unable to establish whether Sir William Steward and myself are related but I did some research into his career which is a fascinating one and I now feature him in my talk on "Hethersett Heroes and Heroines."
Sir William was an important figure not only in politics but in the world of cuisine and, in particular, curry.
He was born in 1901 and was owner of Hethersett Hall before it became a care home. William Steward was the son of Mr and Mrs William Arthur Steward (the same name as my own father). His father was head gardener in Norwich Cathedral Close. He was educated at the Norwich Model School and privately and during the Second World War served as a senior catering officer with the Royal Air Force, reaching the rank of Squadron Leader.
Sir William was an expert in the field of curry foods and became the owner of the famous Veeraswamys Indian Restaurant in Regent Street in London. Later he became owner of a company manufacturing canned curry products.
His story is a classic rags to riches tale. Born in Norwich, he rose from an office boy earning five shillings a week to become the owner of the internationally renowned restaurant. He became an expert on curries by travelling over 200,000 miles to research the subject and his expertise in the field led to him being nicknamed "King Curry."
Sir William sold the restaurant around 1967 and launched a company manufacturing canned curried products using the Veeraswamy name.
After working as an office boy, Sir William sought his fortune in London at the age of 19. He was articled to a firm of chartered accountants, was secretary of three restaurant companies by the age of 22 and, at 28, became a managing director and at 30 chairman of those companies. In 1935 he became chairman of Veeraswamays. He had taken over the restaurant in 1930 and was married to one of the top singers of the time - Greta Gaye of whom I haven't been able to find anything about.
Throughout the 1930s, trade was very difficult but the couple used great resourcefulness and came through the challenging times. In the 1940s and 1950s the restaurant became a great success. The first ever curry in a can was introduced under the Veeraswarmy Food Products brand in the early 1950s. The restaurant was sold by Sir William in 1967. The food products business under the Veeraswarmy name continued to be owned by the couple until his death.
He was subsequently made a freeman of the City of London and was a member of London County Council from 1949 to 1952 and a Master of the Worshipful Company of Distillers from 1953 to 1959. He was also a member of the Council of the Caterers' Association. He became a Member of Parliament when he won Woolwich West for the Conservative Party in 1950, holding the seat until he retired nine years later. He had previously stood for the parliamentary seat of Southwark Central in the 1945 election but had failed to gain election. He was elected chairman of the London Conservative Union in 1953.
While an MP, Sir William was chairman of the Kitchens’ Committee in the House of Commons and was the first Chairman for 100 years to make the department profitable. He was knighted in 1955 at the age of 54. He maintained close links with Norwich and was a keen supporter of Norwich City Football Club. When Norwich City were promoted to the Second Division in 1933, he gave a dinner at Romano’s, the restaurant he then owned, for the directors, manager and players.
Sir William was also a trustee of the Great Hospital in Norwich.
Veeraswarmy's Restaurant
Veeraswarmy's Restaurant is located at 99-101 Regent Street and was opened in 1926 by Edward Palmer, the great grandson of an English soldier and an Indian Princess. In its early years it served Anglo-Indian cuisine but now serves more regionalised Indian dishes.
Sir William Steward took over the restaurant in 1930. The first ever curry in a can was introduced under the Veerawamy brand in the early 1950s. The restaurant was sold by Sir William in 1967 but the food products business under the Veeraswamy name continued to be owned by the couple into the 1990s. The restaurant celebrated its 90th birthday in 2016.
More About Hethersett Hall
Hethersett Hall was built by John Luke Iselin who was born in Basel, Switzerland. It dates back to the early 19th century. A stone on the floor of the nave of Hethersett bears the inscription "In Memory of John Luke Iselin" and I will look at his life in a coming blog.
The Hall’s first occupier was Thomas Back, a Norwich solicitor. Sir William Steward owned Hethersett Hall some time after 1976. An undated newspaper cutting describes Hethersett Hall as: "An outstanding country house standing in one of the most beautiful parks in the area, overlooking open countryside and grazing land to its private lake."
At the time of the cutting, Hethersett Hall was being offered for sale through Temples Estate Agents for a price in the region of £200,000 It was further described as "a grand Georgian house, standing about six miles from the city (Norwich) off the London A11 road (now the B1172) in about 43 acres of land.
The Eastern Evening News of 3rd April, 1979, had an article entitled “King Curry sells his Norfolk home." There was a picture of Sir William Steward standing in front of the hall. I have a copy of this cutting but seem to have mislaid it at the present time.