Penny Churchill reports that the oldest elements of Swannington Hall date back more than half a millennium, but all subsequent generations have left their mark.
Exquisite Grade II* listed Swannington Hall is on the market in the timeless village of Swannington, 10 miles northwest of Norwich, 14 miles from Holt and 17 miles off the north coast of Norfolk at Cley-next-the-Sea . . Ben Rivett of Savills is in charge of the sale and has quoted an estimated price of £2.1 million for a charming redbrick, brick and flint country house with plain tiled gabled roofs on an important medieval moated site. beautifully designed and manicured gardens and grounds.
Described in the details of the list as “a manor house surrounded by a moat, 15th century or earlier”, the earliest phase of the current hall is probably the south wing, which includes textiles from the late 15th century.
In the early 16th century, the hall belonged to the Reacher family, but it is clear that when John Reachers wrote his will in 1501, his family had already lived there for some time. His descendants remodeled the house roughly in its current form.
Other notable residents included the Bloodwell family who moved to Swannington when William Bloodwell took possession of Swannington Manor and Swannington Hall Manor around 1630. The east side of the north wing and the west side of the south wing were resurfaced. around the same time, while the west side of the north wing was redone in the 19th century. At other times in its history, the hall was used as a farmhouse.
Swannington Hall was extensively renovated by the current custodians in 2000–2001. Improvements included the installation of underfloor heating on the ground floor and the installation of bespoke joinery such as new windows, cabinets, and library shelving.
The central hall shows the age of the house with stucco beams and a central fireplace dated Tudor arch and roses in the lintels. Of particular note are the south-facing music room overlooking the gardens and the atmospheric dining room. Two staircases lead to the second floor and three master bedrooms with bathrooms; three more bedrooms are served by a family bathroom and a separate shower room.
At the opposite end of the building is an additional bedroom with walk-in closet and shower room, ideal for guest or staff outbuildings or space for noisy kids.
The gardens have been transformed over the years with the help of award-winning landscape gardeners. Behind the house, immaculate south-facing lawns are lined with clipped holly, parterre, rich herbaceous beds and hedgerows, with paved and ornamental brick paths leading to bridges across the moat and beyond to delightful patches of woodland and some fine specimens of trees.
Swannington Hall is on sale for £2.1 million – see details and photos.
