Bredfield House (or White House as it was also known) was a now-demolished country house situated in the village of

Bredfield Bredfield is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is situated just off the A12, two miles north of Woodbridge. Another village, Dallinghoo, is to the north, and to the west is Boulge, a small hamlet. The popul ...

, around 2 miles north of

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England, United Kingdom. It was a Jacobean building and was traditionally the seat of the Jenney family. The White House, Bredfield, Suffolk postcard c

The White House, Bredfield, Suffolk postcard c

History

In the 17th century Bredfield belonged to the Marryot family, who built the house. It passed to the Jenney family in 1683 by the marriage of Dorothy, daughter and co-heiress of Robert Marryott, to Edmund, the second son of Sir Robert Jenney. A later Edmund Jenney was

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

for 1740. The house is best known as the birthplace Edward FitzGerald (1809–1883), who went on to translate the Rubàiyàt of Omar Khayyàm. Edward's father, John Fitzgerald, had rented it in 1801 from the Jenneys on his marriage to Edward's mother. Edward described it in his poem of 1839, ''Bredfield Hall'' which starts thus: :"Lo, an English mansion founded :In the elder James's reign, :Quaint and stately, and surrounded :With a pastoral domain." Fitzgerald described the house as overlooking Hollesley Bay at the time when

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

anchored there in 1801. It was also described elsewhere as somewhat gaunt and charmless, but in a good park with gardens and ponds and fine stables and kennels. Bredfield House was severely damaged by a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

during

World War II 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 opposin ...

and has since been completely demolished. In 1984 the park was described as desolate and overgrown, with conifers indicating where the house once stood.

References

External links

*
British Towns and Villages. Photograph of house dated circa 1907
{{coord, 52, 6, 51, N, 1, 18, 32, E, type:landmark, display=title Grade II listed buildings in Suffolk Country houses in Suffolk Suffolk Coastal British country houses destroyed in the 20th century