The Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham - geograph

Quidenham Hall is a country house at

Quidenham Quidenham is a small rural village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 576 in 183 households at the 2001 census,

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

A dwelling is known to have existed on the site as far back as the year 1000, which passed to the Bedingfeld family around 1400. In 1572 the manor was bought by John Holland, a local Member of Parliament. The present house dates to around 1600 when John's son, Thomas, started building it. The East Wing and West portico were added later by John Bristow. The house remained in the

Holland family The Holland family was a medieval-era English noble family. Many Hollands were Dukes, Earls, Knights and Barons in medieval England, and they played significant roles in the struggles for the crown in the fourteenth and fifteenth century. Origin ...

until around 1800 when it was bought by

George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle General George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle, PC (8 April 1724 – 13 October 1772), styled Viscount Bury until 1754, was a British Army officer who served in the War of the Austrian Succession, Jacobite rising of 1745 and Seven Years' War. He ...

: it then passed down the Keppel family. It was regularly visited by

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

in the early years of the 20th century. In 1948 the house was acquired from the Keppel family by the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

Rushmere, Ipswich Rushmere is an area of Ipswich and former civil parish in the Ipswich district in Suffolk, England. In 1901 the parish had a population of 601. In 1894 the parish of Rushmere St Andrew was created from the rural part of the parish, on 25 Mar ...

who re-established it as a monastery of Carmelite nuns. In 1989 some cottages on the property, formerly used as staff living accommodation by the Keppel family, were made over to a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

for sick children now under the management of East Anglia Children's Hospices, an independent charity under the patronage of

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew ...

. Quidenham Hall itself remains in the hands of the Carmelite community.

Grounds

The Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham - geograph.org.uk - 1852803.jpg, Monastery The Carmelite Monastery in Quidenham - geograph.org.uk - 1852812.jpg, Entrance

References

{{coord, 52.4498, 0.9894, display=title Country houses in Norfolk Discalced Carmelite Order in the United Kingdom Quidenham

History

Grounds

See also

References