300-year-old lime avenue to Broke Hall - geograph

Broke Hall is an

English country house 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 town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

Nacton Nacton is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The parish is bounded by the neighbouring parishes of Levington to the east and Bucklesham in the north. It is located between the tow ...

, near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

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 ...

. It overlooks the

River Orwell The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, where the river becomes tidal. It broadens in ...

, opposite Pin Mill. The gardens were landscaped by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

in 1794, and the house is

Grade II* listed 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 I ...

. The site was purchased by

Sir Richard Broke Sir Richard Broke or Brooke (died 1529), was an English judge, who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Broke was fourth son of Thomas Broke of Leighton in Cheshire, and his wife, daughter, and heiress of John Parker of Copnall. His ancestor ...

, who built a manor house there, during the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The present house was built by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...

for Philip Bowes Broke in 1792, but is probably a remodelling of an earlier house built in 1775 by Richard Norris. Broke Hall was the birthplace of Admiral

Philip Bowes Vere Broke Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, 1st Baronet (; 9 September 1776 – 2 January 1841) was a distinguished officer in the British Royal Navy. During his lifetime, he was often referred to as "Broke of the ''Shannon''", a reference to his notable comm ...

. The property remained in the Broke family until 1887, when on the death of Admiral Sir George Broke-Middleton, it was inherited by his niece, Lady de Saumarez, formerly Jane Anne Broke, the wife of

James Saumarez, 4th Baron de Saumarez James St Vincent Saumarez, 4th Baron de Saumarez (17 July 1843 – 25 April 1937), was a British diplomat and peer, for some forty-five years a member of the House of Lords. The name is pronounced "Sommerez". Early life Born in London, while his ...

, thus passing into the Saumarez family.Walford Dakin Selby, ed., ''The Genealogist'', vol. 23 (1907), p. 143: "He on his uncle's decease in 1860, assumed the additional name of Middleton, and dying s.p. on 19th January 1887, the property devolved upon his niece, Jane Anne Broke, the daughter of his deceased brother, Captain Charles Acton Broke, 11. E. (ob. 1855). She, on 10th October 1882, became the wife of Sir James St Vincent, fourth Baron de Saumarez." A

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in Ipswich is named after the hall.

References

Grade II* listed buildings in Suffolk Houses in Suffolk Nacton Gardens by Humphry Repton {{Suffolk-struct-stub