Moreton Hall is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

, a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

in the county of

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England. It was designed by the Scottish architect

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 (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

and built in 1773 as a country house for John Symonds (1729–1807), a clergyman and Professor of Modern History at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The building was originally known as "St. Edmund's Hill". It was later called "The Mount" and from 1890 "Moreton Hall".British Listed Buildings
Moreton Hall School, Bury St. Edmund's
(English Heritage Building ID: 466967)

School

From 1962, the building and surrounding 30 acres of parkland was used by the Moreton Hall Preparatory School, an independent co-educational preparatory school founded by Lady Miriam Fitzalan-Howard (daughter of Lord Howard of Glossop) and her husband Commander Peregrine Hubbard. Hubbard and Geoffrey de Guingand served jointly as the school's first headmasters. The Moreton Hall School Trust acquired the

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

to the building and parklands in 2009. It was affiliated with the Roman Catholic church but accepts all pupils regardless of denomination. The school was divided into two sections: pre-prep and prep. The pre-prep took pupils from aged 2 years and 8 months to 7 years. Prep consisted of pupils in Years 3–8. Boarding was offered to pupils aged 8 and above. The school closed permanently on 30 June 2020 due to the

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Owners and residents

Professor John Symonds (1730-1807) built the Hall which was he called St Edmund’s Hill in 1773. He was the eldest son of the rector of

Horringer Horringer, formerly also called Horningsheath, is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It lies on the A143 about two miles south-west of Bury St Edmunds. The population in 2011 was 1055. Herit ...

. His mother was the daughter of Merilina Jermyn whose family owned the nearby Rushbrooke estate. He was educated at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and later became a Professor of modern history. In 1768 he became the Recorder of Bury. He built the Hall on property which he inherited from his maternal grandmother Merilina Jermyn. It was her share of the Jermyn estate. His Diary records that the foundation stone was laid on 2 April 1773 and that the architect was Adam. Adam block was built as a cube, with a parapet and a wood cornice. The eastern wing was added in the mid nineteenth century. An engaving of part of

was made in 1774 immediately after the Hall was built which shows the new Adam structure on the extreme left. He did not marry and when his younger brother Captain Thomas Symonds retired in 1788 he invited him and his wife Elizabeth Malet with their children to come and live at the Hall. This family remained with him until Thomas’s death in 1792. Rental Notice 1833

Shortly after John died in 1807 the Hall was sold to Thomas Cocksedge (1748-1833). It appears that he bought it for his son Martin Thomas Cocksedge (1781-1824) who was married in this year. Martin lived with his wife Mary Susanna Leheup (1787-1858) at the Hall until his death in 1824. During this time they had nine children. He was a Captain in the Second Dragoon “

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

”. After Martin’s death in 1824 his wife continued to live at the Hall intermittently and also rented it to wealthy tenants. One of these was Henry Franklyn who lived there between about 1826 and 1833. In 1833 the house was advertised again as a rental property and the advertisement is shown. By this date the name had been changed to “The Mount”. When Martin’s son Thomas Martin Cocksedge (1816-1846) came of age in 1837 he took possession of the Hall. He lived there for about seven years and then advertised the property for sale in 1844. It was bought by John Josselyn who lived there with his family for the next forty years. John Josselyn (1816-1884) was a wealthy land owner. He was the only son of John Josselyn (1781-1820) of Horkesley and Boxted Hall. His father died when John was an infant but his property was left to him. Much of the estate including Boxted Hall was sold and when John came of age he inherited a great deal of money. In 1837 he married Mary Ann Sarah Bishop (1813-1897), the daughter of a clergyman. The couple had eight children. It appears that it was he who added the additional wing on the east. He died in 1884 and the house was advertised for sale. It was bought in 1890 by Ferdinand John Eyre. Ferdinand John Eyre (1856-1928) was a landowner. His father was Vincent Eyre of Lindley Hall. In 1880 he married Mary Gabrielle Constance Helen Paston-Bedingfeld (1846-1937) the daughter of Sir Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, 6th Baronet. The couple who had no children lived at the Hall for forty years. They changed the name from “The Mount” to “Moreton Hall”. He was the mayor of Bury and High Sherrif of

. When he died in 1928 the Hall was put on the market. In 1932 it was bought by Percy Ridley Thompson. Percy Ridley Thompson (1860-1955) and his second wife Alice Bower (1874-1951) lived at the Hall until 1947 when it was sold and became a school.

References

External links

History of Moreton HallProfile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...

website Grade II* listed buildings in Suffolk Grade II* listed educational buildings Robert Adam buildings Buildings and structures in Suffolk Defunct schools in Suffolk Boarding schools in Suffolk Roman Catholic private schools in the Diocese of East Anglia Catholic boarding schools in England Bury St Edmunds Educational institutions established in 1962 1962 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2020 2020 disestablishments in England {{UK-listed-building-stub