Ketteringham Hall Norfolk

Standing in an estate of 36 acres of woodland and open grassland, Ketteringham Hall has had a long history. The estate itself is known to have been in existence during the time of Edward the Confessor (1004–1066) and was mentioned in the Domesday Book when it was in the possession of two Saxon lords: Ulf and Ketel. It is from Ketel that the name of Ketteringham is derived.

The hall itself originated in the late 15th century when it was built by Sir Henry Grey. It was later inherited by Thomas Heveningham whose family occupied it for nearly 200 years. After a short tenure by the Heron family it was bought by Edward Atkyns whose wife, Charlotte, mortgaged the hall to raise funds for an attempted rescue of Marie Antoinette from the revolutionaries in France. The attempt was a failure and Charlotte died penniless in France in 1836.

After a fire in the early 1800s the hall was rebuilt to its present form and in 1836 it was sold to Sir John Peter Boileau whose family resided there until 1948. Their coat of arms with the motto, De Tout Mon Cour (with all my heart) can still be seen above the front entrance. A fuller history and some lovely old images can be found on the Ketteringham Hall website www.ketteringhamhall.co.uk/about/history.html

Of particular interest is a collection of stained glass panels installed in 1844 in a large staircase window which include 17th - century glass originating from Rouen. Stained glass in other windows mainly consists of 19th-century roundels depicting coats of arms belonging to the Boileau family.

For further information and to view the details of each window click the boxes below. For a downloadable and printable fact sheet click