Record Details

NHER Number:41386
Type of record:Building
Name:Turret House, Hunstanton Road

Summary

An unusual 19th century brick, flint and carstone house, with a two storey tower, four angle turrets and Gothic architectural details. The house incorporates reused medieval masonry, including a 13th century tomb lid, a 15th century casement and a terracotta Tudor casement. Many of the reset pieces, as well as fireplaces, fossils and tiles, were collected by R. Gunther, an Oxford don and founder of the Museum for the History of Science, who used Turret House as a holiday home in the early 20th century.

Images

  • Turret House, Heacham.  © Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service

Location

Grid Reference:TF 68065 37888
Map Sheet:TF63NE
Parish:HEACHAM, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

September 1984. Listed, Grade II.
House of about 1830 and late 19th century.
Red brick, black glazed pantiles, extended in rubble carrstone, flint and brick with stone dressings.
South section has off centre door, three ground and two first floor sash windows. Porch with columns. South gable stack and axial stack. Addition to north in Tudor Gothic style incorporates some medieval stone carvings, others are imitations. At junction of two sections if brick pier supporting stone octagonal tracery and finials. Two storey tower at centre; rectangular stone window to ground floor, similar to first. Four angle turrets with tracery and Gothic windows, Tudor terracotta window to north. Two storey polygonal tower to north has 15th century battlemented casement. 13th century stone tomb lid.
Information from (S1).
(S2) in file states the above reset pieces, plus tiles, fireplaces, fossils and minerals were collected by R. Gunther, an Oxford don, who used the building as a holiday home from 1904 to 1910 and collected them from demolition sites. This suggests (S1)s dating of late 19th century is a little early.
E. Rose (NLA), 27 April 2005.

Unsourced book illustration in file states this was known as Park House, existed before 1882 and embellished by Gunther in 1899.
E. Rose (NLA), 8 August 2006.

Monument Types

  • HOUSE (19th Century - 1830 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, W. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 389.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Designation: English Heritage. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1342275.
<S2>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2005. Edwardian touches make home unique. 25 April.

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