Felbrigg Hall
Encyclopedia
Felbrigg Hall is a 17th-century country house located in Felbrigg
, Norfolk, England. Part of a National Trust
property, the unaltered 17th-century house is noted for its Jacobean architecture
and fine Georgian interior
. Outside the house are a walled garden
, an orangery
and orchard
s.
. Later residents included John Wyndham (1558–1645), probably the builder of Felbrigg Hall. The last Wyndham of Felbrigg was William Wyndham (d. 1810).
The last owner of the house before it passed into National Trust ownership was Mr Robert Ketton-Cremer. The original heir, Robert's brother Richard, was killed in action in the Second World War. A memorial to Richard Ketton-Cremer was constructed in the woods behind the house by Robert. Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer wrote a number of books, particularly about Norfolk, including Felbrigg: the Story of a House, and Norfolk in the Civil War, Faber, 1969. In the latter, he indicates his health is failing. Robert Ketton-Cremer never married, and with no heirs, left the estate to the National Trust on his death. Part of the estate was acquired by the Beeston Hall school.
Christopher Mackie, husband of author Mary Mackie, was Administrator, or Houseman, of Felbrigg Hall until 1990. Mary Mackie has written a number of books on their experiences, the most successful of which are Cobwebs and Cream Teas and Dry Rot and Daffodils.
s (approximately 7 square kilometres) of parkland including the 520 acres (2.1 km²) Great Wood, which shelters the house. There are a number of waymarked
walks through the estate.
s are interspersed with areas of dark shrubbery. This garden features a number of specimens from North America
including Red Oaks, Western Red Cedar
s, and a meadow
with a walled garden. There are double borders of mixed shrubs, a herbaceous border, and more. The orchard has been planted with varieties of fruit known to have grown in the garden during the 19th century. The gardens are home to the National Collection
of Colchicum
s.
Felbrigg
Felbrigg is a small village just south of Cromer in Norfolk, England. The Danish name means a 'plank bridge'.Historians believe that the original village was clustered around its Perpendicular church, in the grounds of Felbrigg Hall, a Jacobean mansion built in the early 17th century, a mile to the...
, Norfolk, England. Part of a National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property, the unaltered 17th-century house is noted for its Jacobean architecture
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
and fine Georgian interior
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
. Outside the house are a walled garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
, an orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
and orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s.
History
Felbrigg estate, originally home to the Felbrigg family, was long the home of members of the Wyndham family, since the first John Wyndham (d. 1475), acquired the estate from the Felbrigg family. Thomas Wyndham (d. 1522) was a councilor to King Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. Later residents included John Wyndham (1558–1645), probably the builder of Felbrigg Hall. The last Wyndham of Felbrigg was William Wyndham (d. 1810).
The last owner of the house before it passed into National Trust ownership was Mr Robert Ketton-Cremer. The original heir, Robert's brother Richard, was killed in action in the Second World War. A memorial to Richard Ketton-Cremer was constructed in the woods behind the house by Robert. Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer wrote a number of books, particularly about Norfolk, including Felbrigg: the Story of a House, and Norfolk in the Civil War, Faber, 1969. In the latter, he indicates his health is failing. Robert Ketton-Cremer never married, and with no heirs, left the estate to the National Trust on his death. Part of the estate was acquired by the Beeston Hall school.
Christopher Mackie, husband of author Mary Mackie, was Administrator, or Houseman, of Felbrigg Hall until 1990. Mary Mackie has written a number of books on their experiences, the most successful of which are Cobwebs and Cream Teas and Dry Rot and Daffodils.
Today
At one time Felbrigg Hall stood at the centre of one the largest estates in Norfolk. Today 2011, the Felbrigg estate covers some 1,760 acreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (approximately 7 square kilometres) of parkland including the 520 acres (2.1 km²) Great Wood, which shelters the house. There are a number of waymarked
Waymarking
Waymarking is an activity where people locate and log interesting locations around the world, usually with a GPS receiver and a digital camera. Waymarking differs from geocaching in that there is no physical container to locate at the given coordinates. Waymarking identifies points of interest for...
walks through the estate.
The gardens
Felbrigg garden is laid out in two different styles. The west garden is laid out in the style of a typical Victorian pleasure ground, arranged around an 18th-century orangery. Accentuating the play between light and shade, its formal lawnLawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
s are interspersed with areas of dark shrubbery. This garden features a number of specimens from North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
including Red Oaks, Western Red Cedar
Thuja plicata
Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...
s, and a meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
with a walled garden. There are double borders of mixed shrubs, a herbaceous border, and more. The orchard has been planted with varieties of fruit known to have grown in the garden during the 19th century. The gardens are home to the National Collection
NCCPG National Plant Collection
The NCCPG National Plant Collection scheme is the main conservation vehicle whereby the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens can accomplish its mission: to conserve, grow, propagate, document and make available the resource of garden plants that exists in the United...
of Colchicum
Colchicum
Colchicum is a genus of flowering plants containing around sixty species of perennial plants which grow from corms. It is a member of family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe and parts of the Mediterranean coast....
s.
Further reading
- AA's Illustrated Guide to Britain, London, 5th edition, 1983.
- Mackie, Mary. Cobwebs and Cream Teas: Year in the Life of a National Trust House, ISBN 0-7528-3410-X
- Mackie, Mary. Dry Rot and Daffodils: Life in a National Trust House, ISBN 0-7528-3409-6
- Mackie, Mary. Frogspawn and Floor Polish: Upstairs and Downstairs in a National Trust House, ISBN 1-84024-333-3