Kilverstone Hall viewed across the ha-ha

Kilverstone Hall is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in Kilverstone in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England.

History

Kilverstone Hall is a country house built in the early 17th century which was owned by Thomas Wright and his family. It was greatly enlarged by

Josiah Vavasseur Josiah Vavasseur (26 November 1834 – 13 November 1908) was an English industrialist who founded Vavasseur and Co. (also known as London Ordnance Works). In 1883 the company merged with W.G. Armstrong and Company, and Vavasseur became a dire ...

, technical director of the arms manufacturing firm William Armstrong Ltd. It included a parkland estate of . Upon Vavasseur's death in 1908 the house and park were inherited by Cecil Fisher, son of Admiral Lord Fisher and adopted heir to Vavasseur. Admiral Fisher and his wife moved into the Hall by invitation of Cecil Fisher upon the Admiral's retirement as

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

in 1910 and lived there until he was recalled as First Sea Lord upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914. Lord Fisher's grave is in Kilverstone churchyard. The house was remodelled in a Jacobean style in 1913. It still remains the property of the Fisher family and has the mailed fist and trident of Lord Fisher's baronial crest on its gateposts.Jan Morris, ''Fisher's Face'', pages 742-743, The house is listed Grade II 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, ...

. The Kilverstone Club in the grounds of the house is Grade II listed, as is the water tower, entrance lodge, stable block, and the base of a medieval cross near the hall.

References

{{coord, 52.4227, 0.7813, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Breckland District Country houses in Norfolk Grade II listed buildings in Norfolk Grade II listed houses Jacobethan architecture