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Image above, right and below - Felbrigg Hall Sept. 2018
Images © Copyright C June Barnes - own Work
Felbrigg Hall:
Historic Building of Norfolk, England
Felbrigg hall was the home of the Wyndham/Windham family for 500 years. The hall features a superb Gothic library and great hall. The building is unaltered and is noted for its Jacobean architecture and fine Georgian interior. Outside the house are a walled garden, an orangery and orchards.
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- Type of Building:
- Condition:
- Location: Felbrigg, Aylmerton, Norwich, Norfolk, England, NR11 8PR
- Category: Grade: II*
- Date Listed:
- Canmore ID-
- Coordinates
- OS Grid Coordinates: TG 19583 38051
- When Built: 17th Century
- Architect/Designer Robert Lyminge
- Built for/by: Thomas Windham
- Owned by: In the care of the National Trust
- Webpage:
History
The Windham (or Wyndham) family acquired the manor of Felbrigg, which included a hall and park, during the C15 and during the 1620sSir John Windham made substantial alterations to the Hall for his son Thomas, adding a new southern range. Thomas' son William Windham I commissioned the gentleman architect William Samwell in 1674 to extend the Jacobean house. By this time the park covered c 65ha, bounded by a wall, and before he died William was responsible for extending the woodland planting and developing a geometric landscape around the Hall. Ashe Windham succeeded in 1689 and in the early years of the C18 built the Orangery and the new service courtyard on the east side of the Hall, whilst his wife Elizabeth, directed further planting in the grounds and the woods. When Ashe died in 1749, William Windham II began to dismantle the formal landscape and he soon engaged the architect James Paine (1717-89) to remodel the Hall. William died in 1761 and was succeeded by his son, the great politician William Windham III (1750-1810) who was often absent from Norfolk. The landscape continued to evolve under his agent Nathaniel Kent. During the 1770s and 1780s new plantations were made, a lake created, a new kitchen garden built, and an icehouse constructed.
By the time William died without heirs in 1810 the park had been extended by a further 60ha. The estate passed to his half-brother William Lukin on condition he change his name to Windham. In 1824 he commissioned the architect W J Donthorn to make further alterations to the buildings. Lukin's son William Howe Windham continued his father's work until succeeded in 1854 by 'Mad Windham', William Frederick Windham (1840–1866), an eccentric spendthrift, during whose time the estate rapidly declined (guidebook). Eventually the estate was put up for sale and was purchased in 1863 by John Ketton. The Hall, parkland, and the woods remained much neglected at the end of the C19. When the estate passed to the Ketton-Cremer family in 1923 improvement began. Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer carried on this work. When he died in 1969 he left the estate to the National Trust, who own it today.
Timeline
17th century
18th Century
19th Century
20th Century
21st Century
People Associated with Felbrigg Hall
…in chronological order
- William 'Mad' Windham, who died in 1866. Mad Windham was an unusual character; he was given to odd behaviour. His uncle tried unsuccessfully to have him declared a lunatic. He posed as a London policeman and in that disguise rounded up prostitutes. He also dressed as a train guard and gave loud whistle blasts and caused confusion on rail platforms.
Mad Windham married Agnes Willoughby, a 'lady of easy virtue'. After a short and financially disastrous marriage, Lady Agnes ran off with an Italian opera singer.
- General Charles Windham brought a petition for De Lunatico Inquirendo, leading to a notorious inquiry which sat for 34 days hearing evidence from 140 witnesses. However, the case collapsed and Windham was declared sane. You can read more about this in the book " A Scandal at Felbrigg" by Trevor Heaton, available in the Felbrigg shop. The marriage was short-lived and by 1863 Windham's debts were completely out of control and the estate passed into the hands of his bankers.
- Caroline Augusta Foley (1857 - 1942) Granddaughter of the family at Felbrigg Hall.
Sources, References and Further Reading
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felbrigg_Hall
- https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=267
- https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000185
Related Publications
- Felbrigg Hall Gardens and Estate - National Trust Guide
- Felbrigg: The Story of a House - Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer published 1962
- Houses of the National Trust - Lydia Greeves - p. 136 -138
- The Country Houses of Norfolk - The Major Houses by David Clarke - p. 20-21
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