George Seaton – ‘Lord of the manor’ at Hyltenäs

George Seaton was a merchant who built a hunting lodge here in 1916-1917 on the crown of the hill. He had been searching for some time for a place to build his hunting lodge and finally found Hyltenäs Hill, which suited his needs perfectly. The lodge was a two-storey construction in a square shape, with an open courtyard in the middle. The bottom floor was constructed in brick and the upper floor from mudstone and wood in half-timbered style. The interiors were tasteful and lavish. Expensive rugs and solid furniture, high-class copperplate and oil paintings adorned its rooms and galleries. The lower floor housed the lounge and drawing rooms, dining rooms, the library, garage and stables. Above were the Seatons’ bedroom, the servants’ quarters and guest rooms. The royal guest room was decorated in blues, with a special bed for Gustav V, who was exceptionally tall, and who accepted an invitation to the lodge. The cellar level included a large banquet hall with tiled walls and marble-tiled floors, along with two wine cellars holding 20,000 bottles. There were at least 35 rooms in the lodge.

For Seaton, installing all the latest in modern conveniences in his hunting lodge was an obvious choice. He installed a boiler for central heating, telephone lines were drawn from the town of Horred and in the cellar he installed a cold room of generous proportions that used carbon dioxide as the refrigerant.  At the time the lodge was built, the kerosene (paraffin) lamp was still the main source of domestic lighting and it would be many years before electric power became widespread in rural areas. But George Seaton solved the problem of electric lighting at his lodge right from the start – both inside and out. An electric power generating station was constructed on the eastern side of the hill by the lake. It soon became obvious that this small generator could not provide sufficient capacity for the lodge’s consumption. So power poles were erected for a power line, probably to Hulta Power Station, 6 km away.

The lodge on Hyltenäs Hill was a hunting lodge. That is, it was not a permanent residence for its owners, but it had permanent staff always on hand to receive Seaton’s hunting guests and other friends. Pheasants were bred for hunting at the lodge and deer and roe deer were also introduced into the surrounding area. The hunting grounds covered 600 hectares and were limited by a fence over 2 metres tall over the spit by the southern tip of the Västra Oresjön lake and Tolken, and by the river Hyltenäsån towards Torestorp. After a day’s hunting with friends from high society, the entire lodge would be lit up both inside and out for the ensuing party. The lodge lit up on the hill was reported to be an unforgettable sight in that otherwise dark and gloomy landscape.

Aside from hunting, George Seaton was very interested in gardening and horticulture. Initially, the hill was quite barren and overgrown with heather and juniper bushes. The plateau was levelled and large amounts of top soil were brought in so that a garden could be planted there. In the garden, flowers and bushes of both indigenous and exotic varieties were planted, including peach trees that were kept inside during the winter, and an ever-expanding rose garden. The road to the hill was lined with an avenue of linden trees, and at the foot of the hill a large orchard was planted, surrounded by a massive wall of hewn stone that remains to this day.

On 17th December 1923, George Seaton’s glory days at the hunting lodge were abruptly ended. During the night, a fire broke out that started in a flue and rapidly spread to consume the entire lodge. The devastation was more or less total. Anything combustible, including the furniture and other fittings, was destroyed in the fire.

Almost immediately after the fire, the hill was visited by many, and subsequently its magnificent view and the place’s fascinating history began to attract many visitors. After a period of neglect, Hyltenäs Hill was made into a nature reserve in 1974. The road up to the top of the hill and the balustrades along the cliff tops were repaired in the early 1970s, hiking tracks and parking areas were established and adapted for disabled access. A pavilion built in the 1990s on the top of the hill houses an exhibition of images of Seaton and Hyltenäs. The tables and benches are located in prime positions for enjoying a picnic and admiring the view. 

The information in this text was taken from Bertil Ahlsén’s booklet “Slottsherren på Hyltenäs – George Seaton” (available in Swedish only) roughly: “George Seaton – Lord of the Manor at Hyltenäs”.