-2020-10-18 Gunton Hall, Hanworth, Norfolk (4)

Gunton Hall, Gunton Park, is a large country house near Suffield in

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 ...

History

The estate belonged to the Gunton family in the 12th century, to the Berney family in the 16th century and later to the Jermyn family. The current house was built for

Sir William Harbord, 1st Baronet Sir William Harbord, 1st Baronet (c. 1696 – 17 February 1770), of Gunton and Suffield, Norfolk, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from between 1734 and 1754. Early life Harbord was born William Morden, ...

in the 1740s by the architect

Matthew Brettingham Matthew Brettingham (1699 – 19 August 1769), sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an 18th-century Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of Holkham Hall, and become one of the country's best-known ...

. In 1775

Harbord Harbord, 1st Baron Suffield Harbord Harbord, 1st Baron Suffield (26 January 1734 – 4 February 1810), known as Sir Harbord Harbord, Bt, between 1770 and 1786, was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1756 to 1784 when he was raised to th ...

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 ...

for

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 ...

, commissioned

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 ...

to make significant additions to the house. The grounds were developed by

Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield (2 January 1830 – 9 April 1914), was a British peer, courtier and Liberal politician. A close friend of Edward VII, he served as a Lord of the Bedchamber and Lord-in-waiting to the King. He also held politic ...

, employing

William Milford Teulon William Milford Teulon (30 May 1823 – 23 June 1900, Leamington) was an English architect and landscape designer. Teulon was born in 1823 in Greenwich, Kent, the son of a cabinet-maker from a French Huguenot family. He followed his elder brother ...

as the landscaper. However, the hall was almost destroyed by fire in 1882 and lay derelict for nearly a century before

Kit Martin Kit Martin CBE (born 6 May 1947) is a British architectural designer and country house property developer. Martin is the son of Sir Leslie Martin, Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. Since the 1970s Martin has specialised in ...

, an architect, bought the hall in 1980 and converted it into individual houses. It is surrounded by a 1,000 acre deer park. The boathouse was rebuilt as a studio by the artist Gerard Stamp in 2004. St Andrew's Church, Gunton in woodland to the east of the hall is a redundant

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

church. The church was built in 1769 and designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

for Sir William Harbord, to replace a medieval church. It is a Grade I

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 ...

, and is under the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. Gunton Park sawmill is a 1824

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the com ...

on Hagon Beck.

References

{{coord, 52, 51, 32.0, N, 1, 18, 26.9, E, type:landmark, display=title Country houses in Norfolk

History

See also

References