Hales Hall, a grand Tudor house in Norfolk with its own moat and historic barn is on the market for £3.9 million with Blue Book Agency and Savills.
The main house was built in 1478 by Sir James Hobart, a thrice-married lawyer and attorney general to Henry VII, and is the surviving wing of his grand country residence.
Along with a moat and nine acres of land, the property includes a record-breaking historic barn.
At 184 foot long and made from brick, the Great Barn is the one of the largest surviving barns from this period in history.
“Hales Hall is a magnificent Grade I listed Tudor house in the most magical setting,” said Natalie Howlett-Clarke of Savills Norwich.
“There has been a property on this site for upwards of 1,000 years.”
Hobart had bought the estate from a knight named Sir Roger de Hales, whose daughter was married to the Duke of Norfolk.
Along with the hall itself he built the barn and cottages, protected by a triple moat and defensive walls. Hobart was knighted by Henry VII’s son, the Prince of Wales, who eventually became Henry VIII.
When the family fortune ran out by the 17th century, the Hales Hall estate was bought in 1647 by Lady Dionys Williamson, who reportedly donated the princely sum of £2,000 — more than £388,000 in today’s money – to help Christopher Wren restore St Paul’s Cathedral after the great fire of 1666.
By the 1730s, Hales Hall was let to farming tenants, and over the ensuing centuries fell into disrepair.
This collection of historic buildings were crumbling away when a couple named Terry and Judy Reid bought it in the Sixties and set about restoring them over the course of 30 years.
They even published a book on the renovation and the house’s history, titled Hales Hall in Loddon.
In 2014 the property was purchased by Peter Sheppard and Keith Day of Sheppard Day Associates, who retrofitted the buildings with all the mod-cons while preserving the Tudor elements.
The process included re-tiling a roof that dates from 1601 and carefully rebuilding the chimney’s with Tudor era bricks. A new roof was also installed on the cottage in the grounds.
Far from a fixer-upper now, the property has been re-wired and re-plumbed, along with the construction of a three-storey oak staircase.
Five of the seven bathrooms have roll-top baths, and a custom-built kitchen has been installed complete with an Aga.
The barn was reroofed in 1996, and it has served as an events venue with planning permission for up to 48 weddings a year under its current owners, the Johnston family.
Extensive nine acres of grounds include formal gardens and lawns with elaborate topiary, herbaceous beds, rambling roses, ornamental mulberry and magnolia trees, as well as meadowland and a well-stocked orchard.
“Hales Hall is a magical and living historical Grade I listed building used as a much-loved family home and yet is also a thriving business,” said Lindsay Cuthill, co-founder of Blue Book Agency.
“The warmth of ancient timber and lime plaster give the house an intimately pleasant feel, it is presented with style and an emphasis on comfort with the highest quality fittings present throughout,” Cuthill added.
“From the welcoming large open log fires, extensive reception rooms, farmhouse style kitchen and spacious bedroom suites, Hales Hall will suit even the most discerning of buyers.”
