Description

TL 84 NE 6/541
5377

KENTWELL,
Long Melford,
Kentwell Hall including detached building to the west, Brick Revetment of moat and 2 bridges over moat.

(Formerly listed as Kentwell Hall)

10.1.53.

I

A fine C16 red brick moated mansion, the seat of the Clopton family for
about 300 years. (1308-1618). A will dated 1563 records the house as
new at that time. It stands in a park of 130 acres at the end of an avenue
of limes, nearly 1 mile long, planted in 1678 by Sir Thomas Robinson.
The house is built on an E shaped plan and was described in the C19 as
a "very fair and rich house with 12 wainscot rooms and a park stored with
above 150 deer". It is a very good example of a C16 manor house of considerable
size and externally is surrounded by a moat with brick revetments and
is approached by brick bridges on the south and west sides. The south-east
front is of 3 storeys with a parapet. A central 3-storeyed porch projects
on the front, gabled, with diagonal buttresses and flanked by 3-storeyed
gabled bays. Wings extend to the south-east of 2 storeys and attics,
with square bays facing the open court and at the south-east ends. At
the south-west and south-east corners of these wings there are large octagonal
turrets with ogee domed roofs with weather vanes. The windows are mullioned
and transomed latticed casements. The bays on the south-east front have
large windows of 20 lights. The roofs are tiled and the south-east wings
have 2 gabled dormers on the inner fronts. All the gables have finials
and all the chimney stacks have blank arcading on the sides. At the south-west
end there is a picturesque group of buildings, part of it with a jettied
upper storey with exposed timber-framing. The roof is tiled, with 3 gabled
dormers. Some of the windows have fine stained glass, some of it dating
back to the C14. There is one window with coats of arms of the Clopton
family. The interior was remodelled by Hopper after a fire in 1822.
There is a large stone fireplace of circa 1730 in the dining room and
a late C17 open well staircase which may have been inserted in the house
later. There is a very interesting building on the west of the hall
which is probably a surviving part of the original house, used as a barn
or outbuildings when the new hall was built. Built of red brick with
a garderobe over the moat, with cruciform arrow loops. Part of the west
front at the north end is 2 storeyed with exposed timber-framing and brick
nogging. The upper storey is jettied. Roof tiled, with stopped gables
at the north and south ends and 3 gabled dormers on the west side. The
interior is mostly open to the roof and there are many blocked window
openings. The heavy roof timbers are smoke blackened. The moat is complete
with brick revetments and is crossed by brick arched bridges on the south
and west sides.

Listing NGR: TL8633047945

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17542200

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)