Glemham Hall or Little Glemham Hall is an

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

and Georgian

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire 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 Townhou ...

, set in around of park land on the outskirts of the village of

Little Glemham Little Glemham is a small village and civil parish on the A12 road, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 187. Nearby settlements include the villages of Wickham Ma ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England. It is a Grade I listed building.

History

It was built around 1560 by the De Glemham family for Sir

Henry Glemham Henry Glemham (Glenham) (c.1603 – 17 January 1670) was an English royalist churchman, Dean of Bristol and Bishop of St Asaph. Life Glemham was the son of Sir Henry Glemham of Glemham Hall, Suffolk. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford ...

. It was purchased by Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford of the North family in 1709, whose uncle

Dudley North Dudley North may refer to: *Dudley North, 3rd Baron North (1581–1666), English nobleman and politician *Dudley North, 4th Baron North (1602–1677), English nobleman and politician, son of the above *Sir Dudley North (economist) (1641&ndas ...

had earlier purchased the lordship of the manor of Little Glemham and Banyards; and between 1712 and 1720 major structural changes were made to the facade, giving it the overall Georgian appearance recognised today. In 1791

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intric ...

produced plans for the park; he commented on the H-shaped house in his works. At that time the owner was Dudley Long North. North was a politician and also a patron of

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

, who held benefices at Parham and

Great Glemham Great Glemham is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in Suffolk, England, a mile and a half to the west of the A12 and roughly equidistant between Framlingham and Saxmundham. The parish takes the shape of an irregular tria ...

, and Crabbe met

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...

and

Roger Wilbraham Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and was judged one of her few really competent Law Officers. He held a number of positions at c ...

at (Little) Glemham Hall; Crabbe lived at Great Glemham Hall, a different property owned by North not far away, for some years from 1796. In the latter part of the 19th century the Hall was the residence of the MP

Alexander George Dickson Alexander George Dickson (1834 – 4 July 1889) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons for Dover. Dickson was born at Belchester, a stately home in Berwickshire, Sco ...

. It was purchased by the

Cobbold family The Cobbold family became influential in Ipswich and Suffolk in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The family is best known for brewing, moving its operations from Harwich to Ipswich in 1746, and as the driving force behind Ipswich Town Footb ...

in 1923 in whose hands it has remained ever since. It was offered for sale with

Strutt & Parker Strutt & Parker is one of the largest property consultancies in the UK with a network of 60 offices, 10 in prime central London. It was founded in 1885, by the partnership of two friends, Hon. Edward Gerald Strutt and Charles Alfred Parker. In 2 ...

in 2024, for £19,000,000.

Openings

It is today used mostly for corporate and social occasions. It is open to the general public 28 days of the year or by a private booking for a guided tour of the house by a member of the Cobbold family. The tour showcases much of the family history, changes to the house and many

Ipswich Town Football Club Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

memorabilia. The gardens are opened separately on selected days throughout the summer. In 2013, The

FolkEast FolkEast is an English music festival which started in 2012 at Somerleyton Hall, Suffolk, England. In 2013, it relocated to Glemham Hall in Little Glemham, Suffolk, where it currently holds its annual festival on the weekend before the August b ...

Festival began to be held on the parkland at Glemham Hall every August, attracting international acoustic, folk and roots musicians, whilst also championing local businesses, heritage and crafts.

Notes

References

*''Suffolk, a Shell Guide'' by

Norman Scarfe Norman Scarfe MBE, FSA, (1 May 1923, Felixstowe - 2 March 2014, Ipswich was an English historian of locality noted for his work as regards his native Suffolk. His first publication was ''Assault Division: A History of the 3rd Division from the ...

. Shell, 1960

External links

Photos from ''Country Life''Mabel Eden's diaries, footnote on Glemham HallManor of Glemham Parva
{{coord, 52.1806, 1.4307, type:landmark_region:GB-SFK, display=title Houses completed in 1560 Country houses in Suffolk Grade I listed buildings in Suffolk Cobbold family