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Felbrigg Hall is a 17th-century
English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
near the village of that name in Norfolk. Part of a
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
property, the unaltered 17th-century house is noted for its
Jacobean architecture The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James VI and I, with whose reign (1603–1625 in England) it is associated. At the start of James' reign ther ...
and fine Georgian interior. Outside is a
walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...
, an
orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very larg ...
and orchards. The house and grounds were bequeathed to the National Trust in 1969 by Robert Ketton-Cremer. The hall is
Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
on the
National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...
. Most of the grounds are part of Felbrigg Woods, a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...
.


History

The estate originated with the Felbrigg family. It passed to John Wyndham (died 1475) and remained in that family for centuries. Thomas Wyndham (died 1522) was a councillor to King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...
. Later, residents included John Wyndham (1558–1645) who was probably the builder of Felbrigg Hall. The last Wyndham or Windham of Felbrigg was William Wyndham (died 1810). Much land had been added to the medieval estate in the 17th and 18th centuries. Above the entablature the family arms and the projecting bays bear the words GLORIA DEO IN EXCELSIS in pierced stone, surmounted by heraldic beasts. The last owner of the house, before it passed into National Trust ownership, was Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer. His heir, his brother Richard, was killed in action in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. Robert's memorial to Richard is in the woods behind the house. 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. Robert Ketton-Cremer never married, and with no heirs, left the estate to the National Trust on his death in 1969. Part of the estate was acquired by Beeston Hall School. Christopher Mackie was the administrator, or houseman, of Felbrigg Hall until 1990. His wife Mary Mackie wrote three books on their experiences there: ''Cobwebs and Cream Teas'', ''Dry Rot and Daffodils'' and ''Frogspawn and Floor Polish''.


Today

Today the Felbrigg estate covers approximately 1,760 acres (about 7 km2) of parkland including the of Great Wood, which shelters the house. There is public access to the grounds along a number of waymarked walks through the estate, including the Weavers' Way
long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...
.
National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the ch ...
regional routes 33 and 30 also pass 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 An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very larg ...
. Accentuating the play between light and shade, its formal lawns are interspersed with areas of dark shrubbery. This garden features a number of specimens from North America including
red oaks The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...
,
western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...
s, and a meadow with a
walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...
. There are double borders of mixed shrubs, a
herbaceous border A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody) arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ...
, 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 The UK National Collection is a collection of around 280 historic rolling stock, rail vehicles (predominantly of British origin). The majority of the collection is kept at four national museums: * National Railway Museum, York * National Railwa ...
of colchicums. The gardens are Grade II* listed on the
Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...
and Felbrigg Woods is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...
.


National Trust controversy

To mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of sexual activity between men in England and Wales, the National Trust in summer 2017 organised a "Prejudice and Pride" campaign highlighting the
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...
themes in its properties. At Felbrigg Hall, a short film narrated by
Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
stated that Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer had been widely known to be
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to p ...
, though others claimed that this was only known by his close friends. Two of Ketton-Cremer's godchildren criticised the decision, claiming that a public
outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to co ...
would have been against Ketton-Cremer's wishes and accusing the Trust of using their godfather to generate publicity. The Trust also requested that volunteers wear a badge featuring the charity's logo atop the colours of the LGBT pride flag. Of the house's 350 volunteers, ten refused and were asked to take backstage roles during the campaign. Sections of the press called on the Trust to reverse its decision, and some members cancelled their membership over the issue. The Trust subsequently U-turned on the wearing of badges.


See also

* St Margaret's Church, Felbrigg


Further reading

*''AA's Illustrated Guide to Britain'', London, 5th edition, 1983 * Ketton-Cremer, Robert Wyndham, ''Felbrigg, the Story of a House'', London, 1962. The author donated Felbrigg Hall to the National Trust in 1969. *Mary Mackie, ''Cobwebs and Cream Teas: Year in the Life of a National Trust House'', *Mary Mackie, ''Dry Rot and Daffodils: Life in a National Trust House'', *Mary Mackie, ''Frogspawn and Floor Polish: Upstairs and Downstairs in a National Trust House'', * Maddison, John (2004)
995 Year 995 ( CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane ga ...
''Felbrigg Hall'' (New ed.). Warrington:
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. .


References


External links

{{Commons category
National Trust profile
Country houses in Norfolk Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk Grade I listed houses Historic house museums in Norfolk Jacobean architecture in the United Kingdom National Trust properties in Norfolk Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Norfolk Wyndham family residences Felbrigg