[Sutton Court became the seat of the Strachey family in the 1670s; West probably refers to Sir Henry Strachey, 2^ndBaronet, 1772 – 1858] 

[My mother’s father] Henry King, was by trade a sawyer. This involved at that time, the sawing up of trees into planks, over a sawpit […] The work was illpaid  [sic] but, somehow, he had obtained a better education than was usual to his class. This included music. He was a competent player of violin, flute and piccolo, and did occasional teaching. He played in an orchestra attached to the Parish Church, and sometimes sang in the choir. His voice was unusual—a male alto, or counter tenor. He made periodical visits to Sutton Court to play violin and flute privately to the owner, who was then Sir Henry Strachey. On these occasions Sir Henry sat on a couch and interposed a screen between the player and himself while the music was in progress. Later he would remove the screen and ask grandfather to sit beside him and converse. There these two men would talk—the cultured owner and the sawyer.