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History: The corner-stone of Sutton House was laid on 6 September 1877 by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Henry Bartle Frere. The building was officially opened on 17 December 1878 and named after the Rev. J. G. Sutton, Headmaster of Dale College from 1890 to 1912.

King William's Town, named after the Sovereign of Great Britain, King William IV, was founded on 24 May 1835 by the then Governor of the Cape Colony, Si⁩_x0019_ Benjamin ⁄_x0019_Urban as the capital of the newly founded Province of Queen Adelaide.

The first local school to be established was a military one in the Military Reserve. It is generally believed that the Dale College itself had its beginnings in about 1861, and one of the earliest buildings to be utilised as a school, was that presently occupied by Messrs. K. Handson & Co. of Durban Street, opposite the Holy Trinity Church. The school operated in scattered buildings around the town and the Diocesan Grammar School which was built in 1861, was for example, hired as a public school’ from 1867 to 1875. In these formative years the school was administered as an ordinary public school, under the management of the Borough Council.
The Borough Council thought it necessary in 1875 to surrender, its responsibilities to another committee, and called a public meeting for this purpose. A new commit tee was then formed with Mr Alexander Duncan, the Mayor, as chairman and Mr William Hay as secretary and treasurer. Shortly after the resignation of the head master, Mr Samuel, this committee was dissolved and a new committee was formed with Mr J.W. Weir as one of its members. He was soon elected as Chairman and held this office for twenty seven years. One of this Committee’s first priorities was to provide the school with property and centralised accommodation.
The new headmaster, Mr Robert Marte Fuller, arrived from England in June 1876, and carried on the school in two large rooms in Market Street. The prestige which Mr Fuller’s attainments gave to the Public School enabled the committee to adopt and carry out a scheme for the erection of suitable buildings. the committee, with the assistance of the newly appointed Headmaster, proved very energetic-and soon collected between £3 000 and £4 000 and received Government aid on a pound for pound basis for a new school building. .
Land was subsequently applied for and obtained in Queen’s Road. On 6 September 1877 the foundation stone of the new building was laid by the Governor of. the Cape, Colony, Sir Henry Bartle Frere. After many months of great display of zeal and energy on the part of Mr Weir and his committee the new school was inaugurated (the building presently known as Sutton House) on 17 December 1878. Mr J. Rose— Innes, Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate, delivered the address. At that stage the school was still known as the King William’s Town Undenominational Public School, but it was changed shortly afterwards to Dale College in honour of the Superintendent General of Education at the time.
Mr Fuller resigned in 1885 and was succeeded by Mr J.S. Presley of Edinburgh. Presley was a Dale College for only two years and was in turn succeeded in July 1890 by the Rev. Joseph Sutton. This was the commencement of an association of over 47 years of the Sutton Family with Dale College.
During the Rev. Sutton’s headmastership the school expanded greatly. When he assumed duty in July 1890 there were 31 pupils on the roll, when he. retired on pension in December 1912 this had increased to 240 boys of whom 102 were boarders During this period, in 1907, additional building work was carried out at Dale College, this being the block of Albert Road which was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Sutton House was thereafter used as school hostel. After the Rev. J.G. Sutton’s retirement, he was succeeded as school principal by his son, the Rev. F.J. Sutton.
Sutton House, named after the Rev) J.G. Sutton, is an excellent example of an Edwardian school building, it is a double storeyed rough stone building with gently sloping corrugated iron roc The windows in the lower storey have medieval hood mouldings and the stories themselves are divided by finely detailed cornices with mock dentil supports. Window surrounds are rusticated in smooth dressed stone as a cornice creating high contrasts between the rough stone of the building and its smoother counterpart. The ground floor is heavily corniced to separate it from the basement.
Proclaimed: 1980"
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Construction Date: 1877
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Catalogue: Frescura, 1987 (a), No: 150, Significance Category: