Rendlesham Hall was a large manor house in the village of

Rendlesham Rendlesham is a village and civil parish near Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom. It was a royal centre of authority for the king of the East Angles, of the Wuffinga line; the proximity of the Sutton Hoo ship burial may indicate a connection ...

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 ...

History

The hall was built in the pointed style in 1780A Vision of Britain through time
University of Portsmouth and two lodges, Woodbridge Lodge and Ivy Lodge, were added in 1790. The hall was acquired by

Peter Thellusson Peter eThellusson (27 June 1735 — 21 July 1797) was a Genevan businessman and banker who settled in London, and became a British subject in 1762. He amassed a fortune through commerce and, when he died in 1797, he owned more than 4,000 acres of ...

, a wealthy banker, in the name of his son, in 1796.Our vanishing country houses
/ref> The son, the 1st Lord Rendlesham, who went into politics as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, occupied the hall. The hall was destroyed by fire in 1830 and was rebuilt in Jacobean style to a design by

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred t ...

. The works, which were carried out by Lucas BrothersCharles Thomas Lucas at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> were completed in 1870. The new building had eight reception rooms, including a ballroom, a conservatory, twenty-five principal bedrooms with dressing rooms, nine secondary and thirteen servants' bedrooms, five bathrooms, eleven lavatories and extensive domestic offices. There were of grounds with tennis and croquet lawns, and a walled kitchen garden in a park which extended to . The 5th Lord Rendlesham died in 1911, and the hall was put up for sale in 1920, but there were no bidders. In 1923 the hall was sold for use as a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

, in which use it remained until the

Second World War 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 ...

, when it was occupied by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. For over 80 years the hall had played a major role in the social life of

, but after

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 ...

it stood empty, and it was finally demolished in 1949.

Images

File:RendleshamHouseEastEnd.jpg, The east end of the house File:RendleshamHouseNorthEnd.jpg, The north end, showing the main entrance File:RendleshamHouseNorthEnd2.jpg, The north end File:RendleshamHouseSouthEnd.jpg, The south end File:RendleshamHouseWestEnd.jpg, The west end, showing the greenhouse File:Rendlesham Hall.jpg, Rendlesham Hall c. 1800

References

External links

Photographs of Rendlesham Hall
{{coord, 52.1340, 1.4137, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Suffolk British country houses destroyed in the 20th century