This is not the usual type of report for Derelict Places, but I hope it wont be 'pitted' because I feel it has a place here. If only to show that sometimes with crumbling buildings, there can be light at the end of the tunnel! So this is a report on a magnificent house just south of Norwich, that for decades was left to rot, before being rescued and transformed.
I first visited this place as a 12 year old way back in 1975. It was derelict then and owned by the Wallace Kings furiture store who had formerly used it as a warehouse storage facility. My mother knew the lady who lived in a house nearby and it was she who had taken us for a walk down the overgrown drive to this magnificent building. To say I was blown away as the house came into view through the woods is an understatement.
Years went by and the place continued to degrade. 10 years after my first visit I had the chance to visit again, when my mother told me a guy had just bought it and had plans to turn it into a hotel. His name was Nigel Weeden. I contacted him and he was happy for me to go and have a wander around. I didn't know what to expect when I got there, but he was friendly, enthusiastic and just let me wander off to do my own thing which I was pleased about!
I don't have a great deal on the history, but the present hall was built on the site of a much older hall in 1859 by a local squire, Robert Kellet Long. The mansion stayed in the Long family for generations until 1957 when the hall was purchased by furniture store Wallace Kings for use as a storage depot. I remember a tv news report in the late 70's where an eccentric old man had bought it and planned to turn it into a music school for deaf people. This never materialised. The next I heard was when Nigel Weeden took the place on. The place is now owned by the De Vere group of hotels, and I'm guessing it is they who funded the bulk of the renovation and expansion costs. I don't know if Nigel Weeden is still involved. The house is now just one part of a sprawling complex that includes a health club, golf club and large accomodation buildings, that are sympathetic in fascade to the original mock Elizabethan manor. In my view however, the charm it held back in 1985 has been severely compromised by the large additions, but a building that may have been lost, has after all been saved.
On with the photo's They contain a group of the 35mm film shots I took back in November '85 and digital comparisons from October 2013.
And in 2013.... I have tried to re-create some of the original shots:
I first visited this place as a 12 year old way back in 1975. It was derelict then and owned by the Wallace Kings furiture store who had formerly used it as a warehouse storage facility. My mother knew the lady who lived in a house nearby and it was she who had taken us for a walk down the overgrown drive to this magnificent building. To say I was blown away as the house came into view through the woods is an understatement.
Years went by and the place continued to degrade. 10 years after my first visit I had the chance to visit again, when my mother told me a guy had just bought it and had plans to turn it into a hotel. His name was Nigel Weeden. I contacted him and he was happy for me to go and have a wander around. I didn't know what to expect when I got there, but he was friendly, enthusiastic and just let me wander off to do my own thing which I was pleased about!
I don't have a great deal on the history, but the present hall was built on the site of a much older hall in 1859 by a local squire, Robert Kellet Long. The mansion stayed in the Long family for generations until 1957 when the hall was purchased by furniture store Wallace Kings for use as a storage depot. I remember a tv news report in the late 70's where an eccentric old man had bought it and planned to turn it into a music school for deaf people. This never materialised. The next I heard was when Nigel Weeden took the place on. The place is now owned by the De Vere group of hotels, and I'm guessing it is they who funded the bulk of the renovation and expansion costs. I don't know if Nigel Weeden is still involved. The house is now just one part of a sprawling complex that includes a health club, golf club and large accomodation buildings, that are sympathetic in fascade to the original mock Elizabethan manor. In my view however, the charm it held back in 1985 has been severely compromised by the large additions, but a building that may have been lost, has after all been saved.
On with the photo's They contain a group of the 35mm film shots I took back in November '85 and digital comparisons from October 2013.
And in 2013.... I have tried to re-create some of the original shots:
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