Hunstanton Hall

In the civil parish of Old Hunstanton. In the historic county of Norfolk (Modern Authority of Norfolk, 1974 county of Norfolk).

Possible fortified house suggested by Roger Wilson.
One of the great houses of Norfolk, this was the mansion of the L'Estrange family (the name was changed to Le Strange in 1839 and adopted by the Stylemans, who inherited in 1760). P.G. Wodehouse was a frequent visitor in the 1920s and 1930s and the house is featured in some of his stories. The moated site surrounds buildings which are said to have C14 cores and a gatehouse of 1487. The hall was rebuilt in 1618, and the side ranges in 1623, with a wall along the moat dated 1622. The Octagon is of 1640 and the formal gardens after 1686. There were fires in 1835 and 1853, followed in each case by rebuilding, with further work in the 1870s and up to 1900. A third fire followed in 1950. The wing north of the gatehouse that was gutted by the 1950 fire was restored in the 1980s. The earthworks to the south of the Hall and gardens have been recorded during the NMP mapping under the site number of NHER 26941. The extent of the moat has been mapped, although the aerial photograph evidence did not reveal anything that is not obvious on the ground or map. The area of water features, to the north of the hall, marked ‘mill waters’ has also been mapped. These appear to create three roughly oblong islands, surrounded by water, centred on TF 6907 4205. These ‘moated’ islands represent some form of water management, possibly to do with a mill, although they do not appear to form a standard mill pond or race. It is more likely that they are related to the supply of water for the hall moats. (Norfolk HER)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TF69164184

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 356768
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 1117 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p127n7
    Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B., 1999, The Buildings of England. Norfolk 2: North-West and South p213
    Bryant, A., 1826, Bryant's Map of Norfolk
• Journal Articles
  • Hussey, C., 1926, Country Life Vol59 p552-9, 586-95
    1923, Norfolk Archaeology Vol21 p77-96 [C14 accounts]
    1920, Archaeologia Vol69 p111-20 [C14 accounts]
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • http://www.arapacana.com/reference/hunstanton.html
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Faire, T., 2003, Historical Report and Evaluation of Gatehouse and South Wings
    Rose, E. (NLA), 2003, Building Report