Ellingham and Kirby Cane photograph archive

Kirby Cane Hall and Ellingham Hall

Kirby Cane Hall, from the WI Scrapbook

Information from Norfolk Heritage Explorer: Kirby Cane Hall is 17th century, exemplified by the four-light mullioned and transomed windows to the east and west gables.  Built for the Catelyn family. (possibly with 16th C origins) The front of seven bays was added around 1800 by Lord Berners. Inside are many original features including an oak staircase dated to 1642, 18th century fireplaces and a drawing room panelled with cedar from the park in 1936.The park as a whole dates before 1794; it tripled in size between 1869 and 1886 but then contracted again. There are important 19th and 20th century gardens including a topiaried Yew walk framing the church, castellated hedges and much older topiary specimens. There is also a two storey late 17th C garden house.

Kirby Cane Hall showing a moat. (Robin Lyne)

The Garden House, Kirby Cane Hall (Robin Lyne) 

The garden house is 17th century and later, red brick with roof obscured by a castellated parapet, with a pennant weather vane on the roof. There are two storeys.

Kirby Cane Hall (Robin Lyne)

Kirby Cane Hall; crenelated hedge and croquet on the lawn. (Gordon Read)

Stained glass at Kirby Cane Hall

Stained glass at Kirby Cane Hall

Ellingham Hall

Ellingham Hall was built of white brick in the 18th century, during the Georgian period about 1802. It has three storeys, with five bays, a large central doorway and ten bedrooms. It was modified in the Victorian period with the addition of a large window on either side with four rounded windows and parapet. Two bay wings stand on either side of the main building, standing two and a half storeys high with ground floor windows set in blank arches. At the rear is a porte-cochere set on Ionic columns.

Ellingham Hall (WI Scrapbook)

Ellingham Hall (Tim and Steve Harvey)

Ellingham Hall in winter.

Ellingham Hall and Gardens in summer.

Ellingham Hall (from Views of Old Bungay)

Ellingham Lodge, Wardley Hill Road (from Views of Old Bungay)

Ellingham Hall from the rear.

Julian Assange (WikiLeaks Founder) was granted bail and given sanctuary from Wandsworth Jail, by his friend Vaughan Smith, at Ellingham Hall prior to moving to the Ecuador Embassy. Before his arrest Assange had been living for much of 5 months at The Frontline Club in Paddington, which is owned by Vaughan Smith. The conditions of bail were a  requirement to wear an electronic tag, an afternoon and night curfew, to report to Bungay police station between 6 and 8 every evening and £200.000 in cash.

Julian Assange seated here on bale inside Ellingham Hall December 2010

Ellingham Hall Lodge, Yarmouth Road. (Tim and Steve Harvey)

The Ice House, Ellingham Hall, early 1800s.  Ice would have been brought from the

Waveney. (Diana Wadley)

We have an account of a previous renovation sourced by Jo Gooderham.

"Unfortunately, a great big tree grew right up the middle, cracked all the thing to pieces....the SNDC gave the estate a grant. The builders had to take all the front arch and doors off. They had to number every brick because all were cut to a different shape to fit the arch. Inside the ice house was a well about 30' deep. A ladder was put down. They had to rebuild the whole thing, get a special lime mix mortar from France, as the joints had to be 'needle' thin.

Gravestone of Henry and Dorothy Smith of Ellingham Hall, Ellingham Churchyard.

Lt Colonel Henry Martin Lockhart Smith, Grenadier Guards, died peacefully on 25th November 2020 aged 83. He is survived by his wife, Margaret (nee Eaton) his two sons and eight grandchildren.