Wolterton Hall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wolterton Hall
North elevation
General information
Type	Historic house
Architectural style	Georgian
Town or city	Near Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 7LY
Country	England
Coordinates	52°50′26″N 1°12′37″E / 52.840635°N 1.210311°E / 52.840635; 1.210311
Completed	1742
Inaugurated	1725
Renovated	1828
Client	Horatio Walpole
Technical details
Structural system	Brick, Portland stone cladding (ground floor)
Design and construction
Architect	Thomas Ripley George Stanley Repton (east wing, 1828)
Other designers	Charles Bridgeman (parkland and lake) William Gilpin (gardens)

Wolterton Hall is a grand country house in Norfolk, England. It is located near the village of Wickmere. The house was built for Horatio Walpole, starting in 1725 and finishing in 1742. The main architect was Thomas Ripley. Ripley was a close friend and helper of Lord Walpole and his brother, Sir Robert Walpole.

What Does the Name Wolterton Mean?

The name Wolterton comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word, Ultretune. It means "Wulfthryth's settlement" or "farm." Wulfthryth was a woman. The name tells us that this area was once a farming settlement.

The History of Wolterton Hall

Before the current hall, there was an older manor house and a village called Wolterton. The village was abandoned long ago. Today, only the tower of the old church remains near the hall. Maps from 1733 show that the village had several houses around a green.

Early Records of Wolterton

Wolterton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, a famous survey from 1086. It was listed as Ultertuna and Wivetuna. The main landowner was William de Warenne, a Norman nobleman. The survey showed four small farms and some land for farming. The land was worth about 80p before 1066 and £1 by the time of the survey.

Horatio Walpole and the New Hall

Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, bought the manor house and estate in 1722. He was the younger brother of Sir Robert Walpole, who is often called Britain's first Prime Minister. Horatio was a politician and a diplomat. He worked in places like The Hague and Paris.

Horatio planned to fix up the old house. But in 1724, a fire destroyed it. So, he decided to build a completely new hall. He hired Thomas Ripley, the same architect who had worked on his brother's home, Houghton Hall.

Building the New Wolterton Hall

Thomas Ripley designed the new hall in a neoclassical style. It was a large country house with three floors. The ground floor was made of Portland stone. The upper floors were built with light red bricks made nearby. The windows had stone frames.

The main entrance was on the north side. It had Tuscan columns and a stone top. People used an outdoor staircase to reach it. This staircase was removed later, and the entrance became a window. The roof was made of Welsh slate.

Changes and Additions to the Hall

Wolterton Hall

Later, Horatio Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford, who was the great-grandson of the first Horatio Walpole, made many changes. In 1828, he asked architect George Stanley Repton to add a new wing on the east side. This wing was in the Palladian style.

Repton also added a stone archway to the south side of the house. This archway had seven rounded arches and a balcony above. At each end of the archway, there were staircases leading down to the gardens.

Inside Wolterton Hall

The inside of the hall is very grand. The Marble Hall was once the main entrance. It has four mahogany doors, which were a gift from Queen Caroline, the wife of King George II. This room also has a beautiful fireplace made of white marble and colored agate. The ceiling has fancy plasterwork.

The house has a tall stairwell in the middle with a stone staircase. The staircase has a fancy wrought iron railing shaped like a lyre. Horatio Walpole's study was decorated by the Italian painter Jacopo Amigoni in a Baroque and Rococo style. Many rooms have beautiful fireplaces and family portraits.

The Parklands and Gardens

Ruins of St Margaret's Church

The hall is surrounded by large parklands and gardens. These were designed by Charles Bridgeman. He also created a lake south of the hall in 1725. In the 1830s, an island was added to the lake and planted with cedar trees.

The old medieval church of St Margaret's is now a ruin. Only its round tower still stands. It is made of flint, brick, and stone. It is a very old and important building.

The Story of Norfolk Turkeys

Lady Dorothy Nevill wrote in her book Mannington and the Walpoles, Earls of Orford (1894) that Horatio Walpole, the first Baron Walpole of Wolterton, received a good amount of money each year from his brother Robert. This money allowed Horatio to buy expensive wood, like walnut, for the doors, windows, and shutters of the hall.

Horatio also brought many American turkeys to Wolterton. These turkeys were kept in the woods around the estate. It is believed that these turkeys were the start of the popular Norfolk turkey breeds we know today.

Wolterton Hall in Recent Times

South and West fronts

The Walpole family lived at Wolterton Hall until Horatio Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford, died in 1858. The next Earl, also named Horatio, moved to nearby Mannington Hall. Wolterton Hall was empty for many years until the 1900s.

In 1905, Robert Walpole, 5th Earl of Orford, started to restore the hall. He moved back into Wolterton from Mannington and lived there until he died in 1931. Since he had no children, he left the house to a distant relative, Robert Henry Walpole.

In 1950, the 7th/9th Baron Walpole opened the house to the public.

The Fire of 1952

In 1952, a fire broke out in a bedroom on the second floor. The fire destroyed the entire second floor and caused a lot of water damage to the floor below. Firefighters, estate workers, neighbors, and even some schoolboys worked together to save many valuable items from the house. The firefighters were very brave in rescuing priceless art and furniture.

Lord Walpole began restoring the hall soon after the fire. After three years, the hall was open to the public again.

New Owners and Restoration

In 1989, the hall was inherited by the 8th/10th Baron Walpole. He lived at Mannington Hall. He said he wanted to protect Wolterton Hall and its estate. However, in 1999, he sold some land. In 2015, he put the hall and 500 acres of land up for sale.

In April 2016, two interior designers, Peter Sheppard and Keith Day, bought the house and parkland. They started a big project to restore the hall. In 2022, their restoration work won an award from the Georgian Group and the Historic Houses Association. In 2023, Wolterton Hall was sold to a local businessman, Richard Ellis, and his family.

Gallery

Attribution