Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

Former seat of Lord Amhurst. According to (S4) only a tower and colonnade remain. It states the house was destroyed by fire, though a cutting of 1950 in the Bolingbroke Collection NCM shows an Italianate water tower being pulled down and says the house has been demolished. It was mostly Georgian, but incorporated older sections; a marble chimneypiece was said to come from St Peter's in Rome.
D. Jones reports an icehouse on the east of the house site, domed.
Icehouse is small and well preserved, with spaces for three doors in the tunnel, but the chamber is partly infilled. A hole in the roof is covered by a tin. Details supplied by [1].
Story of a second ice-house, but this is perhaps a confusion with the grottoes, pumphouse etc in the grounds.
For the icehouse formerly under this number see NHER 34562.
E. Rose (NAU), 15 October 1982.

Photo taken in about 1930, published in (S1) shows garden front of five bays, the end bays being on two storey corner pavilions, and central bay projecting; above three centre bays are attics on a half storey; parapets on centre and pavilions have balustrades. Rusticated quoins. Central Venetian window on upper floor; to each side segmented and pointed pediments to windows, straight hoods to inner bays on ground floor. Later 18th century.
E. Rose (NAU), 19 October 1982.

A well-carved 16th century staircase in Foulden Hall is said to come from here according to 1985 listing of Foulden (Didlington remains not listed).
E. Rose, 4 April 1986.

See report in file by [2] who says house was first erected in the 17th century, extended in 1774 and 1816 and greatly enlarged in 1856 by Lord Amherst. Some trees in the park were said to have been planted in 1688. The south lake is a 19th century addition.
E. Rose (NLA), 22 October 1993.

Panelling and dog kennels at Barton Bendish Hall are said to come from here.
Ref 3 states that the stone was brought by ship to Lynn and then up river because rail transport was too expensive.
E. Rose (NLA), 30 January 2001.

25 July 1996. NLA air photography.
Clearance of trees to west of house has revealed the lines of old hall buildings or garden features.
S. Massey (NLA), 22 November 2001.

January 2004.
The stable court of 1914 is now the occupied house. The site of the hall has been cleared by the owners revealing extensive foundations of 19th century bricks, and central cellars of the same date; the bricks are impressed WATW for William A T Amherst and HFS for Henry Francis Smith, a later owner, also TLD, WESTBRICK, HBBARD and MC. One wall sent in from the south front however is of 17th century brickwork and this must be the foundation of the hall dating to about 1630 which was of two storeys with projecting bays at the ends of the façade; this was encased by the 19th century extensions; then the building was extended eastwards in about 1900 by Norman Shaw, (a famous architect of the time); the water tower mentioned above was remodelled then. Large fragments of the stone pediments also remain and these may be of artificial stone. A squash court, later a swimming pool still stands and has an iron framed roof. There is indeed some evidence of burning (see above) but most of the hall was demolished after military occupation during World War Two. The museum of Egyptian sculpture where Howard Carter (Egyptologist) is said to have worked as a boy was sold to the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
The present owners have documents referring to stone coming via rail to Brandon Station.
A fireplace from the hall is in a house at South Wootton.
E. Rose (NLA), 29 January 2004.

Monument Types

• GREAT HOUSE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• ICEHOUSE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Didlington (Parish Summary)