Dunston Hall Hotel is a mock Elizabethan grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in the village of Dunston,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England. ''OS Explorer Map 237 – Norwich, Wymondham, Attleborough and Watton''. . The hotel is part of the QHotels group of hotels and has an AA four star rating.Hotel AA Rating
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Location

The hotel is south of the city of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

and is located on the

A140 The A140 is an A roads in Great Britain, 'A-class' road in Norfolk and Suffolk, East Anglia, England partly following the route of the Roman Pye Road. It runs from the A14 road (Great Britain), A14 near Needham Market to the A149 road, A149 so ...

Norwich to Ipswich road, just south of the Harford interchange with the A47County A to Z Atlas, Street & Road maps Norfolk,

History

The current Dunston Hall was built for Robert Kellett Longe. Construction began in 1859 to the designs of the architect

John Chessell Buckler John Chessell Buckler (8 December 1793 – 10 January 1894) was a British architect, the eldest son of the architect John Buckler. J. C. Buckler initially worked with his father before taking over his practice. His work included restorations ...

and was completed by

Edward Boardman Edward Boardman (1833–1910) was a Norwich born architect. He succeeded John Brown as the most successful Norwich architect in the second half of the 19th century.Norfolk Heritage Explorer
Retrieved 18 January, 2013 It occupies the site of an older house, an early 17th Century house although records show that there were also two previous post-medieval halls which stood slightly to the north and east on the site of the present Hall Farm. The house was bought by Keith Shaw, a local businessman, in 1991, and opened as a hotel in 1993.

The residents

Robert Kellett Longe (1804-1874) who built the Hall in 1859 was born in 1804. He was the son of Reverend Robert Churchman Longe (1761-1841) who had inherited Dunston Hall from a distant relative in 1797. At this time there was a large 17th Century mansion on the property. He was educated at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and in 1832 graduated with a Master of Arts Degree. In 1841 when his father died he inherited Dunston Hall and undertook the running of the estate. In 1843 he married Maria Louisa Fortescue, daughter of William Fortescue of Writtle Lodge in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The couple had three sons but unfortunately Maria died three years after their marriage and Robert was obliged to raise his children alone. The 1851 Census shows the family in the old hall. Robert and his three sons are there with the housekeeper, the butler and footman, two housemaids, two nursemaids, two kitchen maids, dairy maid, laundry maid and coachman. The Buxton family 1894

In 1859 Robert commissioned the architect

to build a new house. It seems that the old hall was demolished after its completion as a notice appeared in a newspaper in 1860 advertising for sale building materials from “Dunston Old Hall”. Robert died in 1874 and his son Fortescue Walter Kellett Longe (1844-1934) inherited the property. He did not live there long and for many years the house was rented to tenants. One of the most notable tenants was Lt.-Col. Sir Edmund Broughton Knowles Lacon 4th Baronet (1842-1899) who used the house as a country residence from about 1883 until 1893. At this time he was married to his second wife Florence Amelia Foster. Avery Buxton of Dunston Hall

After he left in 1893 Geoffrey Fowell Buxton and his family rented Dunston Hall for almost thirty years until 1921. A photo of the family in 1894 is shown. Geoffrey Fowell (1852-1929) was a director of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

and

Mayor of Norwich This is a list of mayors and the later lord mayors of the city of Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north ...

in 1903. He was born in 1852. He was the third son of Thomas Fowell Buxton of Easneye Mansion (now

All Nations Christian College All Nations Christian College is an English missions college, located on the Easneye estate near Ware, Hertfordshire, and validated by the Open University. Aims Unlike some Bible colleges, the focus of All Nations Christian College is prim ...

) near

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parishes in England, civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. Location The town lies on the north–south A10 road (Great Britain), A10 road ...

. In 1874 he gained a Bachelor of Arts Degree and the

. He married Mary Harbord, daughter of Rev John Harbord in 1878. The couple had nine children, eight of whom are shown in the photograph. In 1911 his daughter Avery Buxton married Guy Greville Wilson who was the son of Sir Charles Henry Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme. The wedding was held at Dunston Church and the reception at Dunston Hall. A description of the event in the magazine “The Tatler” is as follows. :''"Dunston Church, Norwich, was beautifully decorated with white lilac and lilies of the valley on the occasion of the wedding of the Hon. Guy Greville Wilson, D.S.O., M.P. for West Hull, and Miss Avery Buxton, third daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Buxton of Dunston Hall, Norwich. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Arthur Buxton, cousin of the bride, assisted by the Rey. W. Morley Smith. The bride was given away by her father, and looked very graceful in an Empire gown of soft ivory satin, the corsage being entirely of Brussels lace, which continued down the back of the skirt, while instead of a bouquet she carried a Brussels lace fan, the gift of her mother, to match the lace of her veil.'' :''"The bridal procession was formed of six bridesmaids, gowned in azalea- shaded chiffon with pink shoes and stockings and lace caps, and six small pages in suits of buff and black velvet, the coats of the latter material having white lisse frills at the throat. They carried their black hats and wore diamond-and-coral pins, the gift of the bridegroom, while the bridesmaids had bouquets of yellow roses tied with black velvet ribbons and wore coral necklaces, their presents from the bridegroom.'' :''Captain Halliday, 11th Hussars, supported the bridegroom as best man. Among the many guests invited to the wedding were Florence Lady Nunburnholme, Lord and Lady Nunburnholme, the Earl and Countess of Chesterfield, Earl and Countess Cowley, Lord Suffield, the Earl and Countess of Leicester, the Dowager Countess of Leicester, Lord and Lady Hastings, Mr. and Mrs. Reginald McKenna, and Lord and Lady Hillingdon. After the reception the Hon. Guy and Mrs. Wilson left for their honeymoon, which they are spending on the Continent."''The Tatler - Wednesday 31 May 1911, p. 61 In about 1921 the Buxton family moved to

Hoveton Hall Hoveton Hall in the parish of Hoveton in Norfolk is a Regency-style country house made of gault brick with a slate roof. It was built between 1809 and 1812, on or near the site of the previous ancient manor house of the same name, by Mrs Christab ...

. Soon after Edward Fortescue Long (1876-1955) who was the nephew of the then owner Fortescue Walter Kellett Long moved into the house. He was a bachelor and lived there for many years. When his uncle Fortescue died in 1934 he inherited the house. He died in 1955 and several years later Dunston Hall was sold.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunston Hall Hotel Hotels in South Norfolk Hotels in Norfolk Hotels established in 1878 Grade II listed hotels Country houses in Norfolk Country house hotels