Between 1278 and 1527, Segersjö Manor was [biskopssäte] under Strängnäs episcopate. It is said that sometime in the 15th century, the Swedish Bishop Thomas visited Segersjö and that it was here that he penned his freedom song that is famous among Swedes. But for the sake of honesty, we should mention that he has been said to have written his works both here, there and everywhere…
A Dutch merchant, Erik Larsson, placed a bet of 20 000 crowns on Sweden’s victory in the Thirty Years’ War. In reward Erik, now dubbed von der Linde, received Segersjö. After his death the estate was inherited by his son.
Commander Lennart Torstensson was given Segersjö by Queen Kristina in thanks for his efforts on the battlefield – even though the estate was already owned by the von der Linde family. This delicate ownership problem was solved when Lennart Torstensson reimbursed Erik von der Linde’s heirs with a sum of over 61 000 crowns.
In 1681 the estate was recovered by the Crown, despite protests from Torstensson’s heirs. In 1721, however, it was returned to them.
The Montgomery family has a long English-Scottish history. They spread to Sweden in 1720 and were introduced in the House of the Nobility in 1776. It is therefore no coincidence that the present owner, Robert Montgomery-Cederhielm, occasionally appears festively-dressed in a kilt…
In 1768, Segersjö was bought by baron Josias Carl Cederhielm. Josias, who had no male heirs, made the estate an entailed inheritance for his daughters. One of the conditions for the inheritance was that the owner of the manor, as well as the eldest son in the Montgomery family, should also bear the Cederhielm name.
Segersjö’s main building was constructed in 1776, at that time as a long single-floored stone house with a mansard roof. In 1876 the house was rebuilt in an Italian style, with an additional two floors.
Lord over Segersjö was, in the middle of the 18th century, Robert Montgomery, who was also one of King Gustav III’s closest friends. During one of his battles he abducted his first wife, Anna Sibylla von Strahlbourg, and smuggled her out of Germany in a – to say the least – robust wooden chest (which can be seen today in one of the manor’s parlours). Robert Montgomery, who eventually was promoted to commander, was sentenced to death in 1789 when he was suspected to have been involved in the Anjala Association’s conspiracies against King Gustav III. Fortunately, instead of meeting his death, he was given a reprieve, and was released from his duty and expelled to St Barthélemy (a former Swedish colony in the West Indies). He returned in 1793 and had fifteen children together with his three wives; rumour has it that there are also some Montgomery descendants in St Barthélemy…