Fornham Hall

Fornham Hall was a large 18th-century country house near Bury St Edmunds. It was demolished in 1957.

Fornham Hall c. 1820

History

The Fornham estate was bought in 1731 by Samuel Kent, a rich London grain merchant [1] who became a local MP.[1] Sir Charles Kent, Bt (Samuel's grandson) employed James Wyatt to design a large new house on the estate in the 1770s.[1] He also became a local MP (for Thetford) and was High Sheriff of Suffolk for 1781.[2]

The house was acquired by Bernard Howard (subsequently 12th Duke of Norfolk) in 1797.[1] and expanded on the Duke's behalf by the architect Robert Abraham in the 1820s.[3] It was sold in 1842 to the second Lord Manners[4] who sold it on to Sir William Gilstrap in 1862.[5]

The estate was acquired by the War Office in 1939 and used for training purposes by the Royal Engineers during World War II[6] before the house was demolished in 1957.[5]

The grounds include the tower of the ruined church of St Genevieve.[7]

References
  1. Robinson, p. 96
  2. "KENT, Sir Charles, 1st Bt. (?1743-1811), of Fornham St. Genevieve, Suff". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. "Database of Houses". Archived from the original on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  4. Fornham St Martin local history site
  5. Robinson, p. 98
  6. Airfield Information Exchange
  7. Suffolk Churches

Sources
  • Robinson, John, Felling the Ancient Oaks, Aurum Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1845136703

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