Glemham Hall is an Elizabethan stately home, set in around of park land on the outskirts of the village of

Little Glemham Little Glemham is a small village on the A12 road, in the East Suffolk district East Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England, which was established on 1 April 2019, following the merger of the existing Suffolk Coastal and Wa ...

in Suffolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building, properly called Little Glemham Hall.

History

It was built around 1560 by the De Glemham family. It was purchased by

Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford PC (14 December 1673 – 17 October 1729) was a British peer and member of the House of Lords. Life In 1685, he succeeded his father Francis North as Baron Guilford. In 1701 he was one of five peers of the rea ...

of the North family in 1709, whose uncle Dudley North had earlier purchased the lordship of the manor of Little Glemham and Banyards; and between 1712 and 1720 major structural changes were made to the facade, giving it the overall Georgian appearance recognised today. In 1791

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 ...

produced plans for the park; he commented on the H-shaped house in his works. At that time the owner was

Dudley Long North Dudley Long North (14 March 1748 – 21 February 1829) was an English Whig politician. Early life Baptised Dudley Long at Saxmundham, Suffolk, he was the younger of two sons of Charles Long (1705–1778), landowner, of Hurts Hall, Suffolk, an ...

. North was a politician and also a patron of

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

, who held benefices at Parham and Great Glemham, and Crabbe met

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

and

Roger Wilbraham Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held a number of positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and survey ...

at (Little) Glemham Hall; Crabbe lived at Great Glemham Hall, a different property owned by North not far away, for some years from 1796. In the latter part of the 19th century the Hall was the residence of the MP Alexander George Dickson. It was purchased by the

Cobbold family The Cobbold family is a prominent family that flourished in Ipswich since the eighteenth century. They first became prominent for their involvement in the brewing industry, but subsequently became involved in other areas of trade, banking politics ...

in 1923 in whose hands it has remained ever since. The current owner is Philip Hope-Cobbold, a Cobbold on his mother's side

Openings

It is today used mostly for corporate and social occasions and is not open to the general public although the gardens are open on selected days throughout the summer. The FolkEast Festival which is held on the parkland at Glemham Hall every August, attracting international acoustic, folk and roots musicians, whilst also championing local businesses, heritage and crafts.

Notes

References

*''Suffolk, a Shell Guide'' by Norman Scarfe. Shell, 1960

External links

Photos from ''Country Life''Mabel Eden's diaries, footnote on Glemham HallManor of Glemham Parva
{{coord, 52.1806, 1.4307, type:landmark_region:GB-SFK, display=title Houses completed in 1560 Country houses in Suffolk Grade I listed buildings in Suffolk