Oxburgh Hall is a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

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 ...

in Oxborough,

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The hall was built for Sir Edmund Bedingfeld who obtained a licence to crenellate in 1482. The Bedingfelds gained the manor of Oxborough through marriage in the early 15th century, and the family has lived at the hall since its construction, although ownership passed to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

in 1952. The house underwent extensive refurbishment in the mid 19th century under John Chessell Buckler and

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

History

An example of a late medieval, inward-facing great house, Oxburgh stands within a square moat about 75 metres on each side, and was originally enclosed; the hall range facing the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

was pulled down in 1772 for Sir Richard Bedingfeld, providing a more open U-shaped house, with the open end of the U facing south. The entrance, reached by a three-arched bridge on the north side, is through a fortified gatehouse, described by

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

as "the most prominent of the English brick gatehouses of the 15th century". The gate was designed to evoke the owner's power and prestige, though as fortification its value is largely symbolic; it is flanked by tall polygonal towers rising in seven tiers, with symmetrical wings extending either side that reveal nothing on the exterior of their differing internal arrangements. About 1835 the open end of the U was filled in with a picturesque, by no means archaeologically correct range that recreated the central courtyard. Other Victorian additions include the Flemish-style stepped gables, the massive southeast tower, the oriel windows overhanging the moat and

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

chimneys. Four towers were added to the walled kitchen garden. In the 1830s under Sir Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, 6th Baronet, John Chessell Buckler and

were commissioned to restore and develop the hall. A chapel was added, and the walled kitchen garden and flower gardens were rebuilt. A stable block was also added. The hall is known for its priest hole, constructed by Nicholas Owen. The

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Bedingfelds constructed the closet, accessed through a lavatory, to enable the concealment of priests. The hall is also notable for the Oxburgh Hangings, needlework hangings by

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

and Bess of Hardwick. Mary worked on these while imprisoned in England, in the custody of the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

. A landscape park was laid out to the south and west of the house in the 1830s. A French

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...

was laid out to the east of the moat at this time and a pleasure ground to the west of the new chapel was also created. The estate has a number of woodland walks, including a 'Woodland Explorer' trail. Oxburgh Hall and the remaining estate was auctioned in lots in 1950. The Hall and gardens faced demolition in 1951, but were saved when Sybil, Lady Bedingfeld, her daughter Mrs Frances Playford, and niece Mrs Violet Hartcup raised enough funds to buy Oxburgh back, then gave it to the

in 1952. In 2021, the Trust announced plans for the reversion of the 175 acres of land at Oxburgh from farmland back to wildlife-friendly woods and pasture. The project will be informed by the use of photographs taken during an RAF aerial survey in 1946 and will see the planting of 227 trees to recreate habitats for local wildlife.

Architecture and description

The hall has been listed Grade I 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, ...

since 1951. This is the highest level of designation. The landscaped and formal gardens of the hall have been Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens since 1987.

Gallery

File:Oxburgh Hall (4457610057).jpg, The hall seen from the south File:Oxburgh Hall (4458442272).jpg, The 19th-century Roman Catholic chapel File:Oxburgh Hall (4458551910).jpg, A Victorian pattern-

set in lawn

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

*{{Official, https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/oxburgh-hall
Flickr images tagged Oxburgh HallOxburgh Hall and the Wars of Religion Article at cambridgemilitaryhistory
Augustus Pugin buildings Breckland District Country houses in Norfolk Gardens in Norfolk Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk Grade I listed houses Grade II listed parks and gardens in Norfolk Historic house museums in Norfolk History of Catholicism in England John Chessell Buckler buildings National Trust properties in Norfolk Roman Catholic chapels in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1835 Tudor architecture 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Woodland gardens Houses with moats