DescriptionLarge moated hall house of c 1460 with later additions mainly of 1864. Galletted mosaic of coursed alternating whole iron stained flints and knapped flints. Pantile roof.
Hall, now floored, with parlour and chamber over to right, screens passage and service area with chamber over to left. Third storey above.
West Front: 3 storeys; stone dressings to plinth, quoins, and embattled parapet, string course with gargoyle grotesques below parapet. Large polygonal clasping turret to right. Off centre door to screens passage to left has 4-centred arch, hollow chamfered rendered brick square hood mould with square rebated stops. C14 fragment of unattached label stop depicting bust of civilian to left. Above and to sides of doorway inscription, mainly of 1864 in Black Letter. To right inserted fragments including arms in terracotta and stone. All ground floor and first floor windows of rendered brick mullions with plain segmental heads having square brick hood moulds with square rebated label stops; ground floor to left of door of 2 lights, 4 lights to hall and to parlour to right, 1st floor of 4 lights to chamber above service area to right and above parlour to left, 3 scattered 2 light windows to centre. 2nd floor has 5 evenly spaced 2-light windows in rendered brick beneath 4 centred arches and hood moulds. One square headed window of 2 lights to each floor of polygonal turret at right angle.
South Facade: Single bay gable end of hall of 2 storeys and attic. Embattled polygonal clasping turrets at right and left angles, that to right being smaller. Plain parapet to gable with stone plaque at apex. Turrets and gable parapets articulated by string course. Windows as in west facade, the same to attic/2nd floor, 4 leaded lights to ground and 1st floor. One 2-light square headed window to each floor of left hand turret. Wide one bay, two storey extension of 1864 to right to match; 4 light stone mullioned windows to ground and first floor; platband and decorative tiles in moulded gault brick; embattled parapet with blank gothic panel tracery in stone, having frieze below of moulded gault brick tiles. Clasping polygonal buttress to right angle has ball finial.
East facing return to north: lower part of wall rebuilt 1969 when single storey addition of 1864 was demolished, two 4-light mullioned windows from 1864 addition were inserted; upper wall of 1864 has two 4-light mullions. Parapet has blank stone Gothic panel tracery with frieze below of moulded brick tiles, those to north of C15 those to south of 1864 in gault Costessey brick to match. Parapet and frieze articulated by moulded brick pilasters. C17 domestic range to east at right refaced 1969; brick under pantiles. Arched doorway and 4-light mullioned window of 1864 inserted. Chimneys to main hall, 1864 extension and domestic range in groups of 2 and 4 with decorative moulded brick shafts with elaborate oversailing caps; some of these in red brick of C16, others in C19 gault brick to match.
East Front to Moat: domestic range of 5 bays. 2 storeyed brick gable of C17 range to left, coursed flint base with 2 large buttresses; mullioned windows with square hood moulds having square rebated stops of 3 lights to ground floor and of 2 lights to first floor. To left 4 bay range of 1896 on old foundations. Pebble flint under pantiles. 4 gabled half dormers with 3-light mullioned windows, scattered fenestration below. North gable of range in pebble flint, dated 1896 on plaque with Walpole arms surmounted by coronet. Lean-to to gable and adjacent north facing wall rising from moat in brick under pantiles has curved east end. Courtard approached by bridge (
qv 7/51).
Service range of 1896 to east: mosiac of galletted knapped flints and whole flints; roof in vertical stripes of black glazed and red pantiles; parapeted gable. Ground floor casement windows and doors under segmentel arches. 2 gabled half dormers. Elaborate C19 moulded axial chimney shafts, 3 to left, 4 to right, one at right gable. North gable of hall to south: large blocked window to 1st floor, 2-light attic window in gault brick. 2 storey brick service range to left, C19 facade with 4 sashes with glazing bars to 1st floor, door and varied fenestration to ground floor. Chimney stack of 4 gault brick shafts, 2 x 2, above large internal fire place. Interior: Screens passage has closed string hall staircase of 1864 and panell- ing with acorn frieze. Fire place in room to left lined with Dutch tiles has 3 coats of arms, one effaced, one of the Ironmongers Company, the other a merchant's mark. Hall to right: large fire place with pointed segmental arch lined with Dutch tiles, to original external east wall. C16 panelling from Irmingland Hall has carved frieze and 3 figure-head brackets over fireplace. Round headed arch to right of fire place with projecting keystones and imposts leads to dining room of 1864 which has plaster ceiling and marble fireplace both with monogram HWW (Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford). Parlour to right of hall has 4-centred moulded arch to fire place; heraldic stained glass c 1902. (Listed Building Report)
annington Hall (listed grade I) is a large moated hall house of c 1460 (with 1864 and later additions) built of alternating knapped flint and iron-stained flint under a pantile roof, standing on the north-east part of the moated enclosure. The three-storey hall faces west towards the long avenue and has mullioned windows, crenellated roof, and a polygonal tower. The door is reached via a wrought-iron and wood pedestrian drawbridge across the moat. The south facade overlooking the gardens has large mullioned windows and polygonal towers to left and right. The east front comprises a low two-storey domestic range of brick and flint. The north front contains the courtyard, approached by a bridge over the moat (listed grade II) and enclosed to the east by a low flint service range and to the west by a red-brick garden wall (listed grade II). The building work carried out on the Hall in 1864 by Horatio Walpole affected much of the exterior but retained its early style and character.
The ruins of the C11 parish church (listed grade II) lie c 250m south-west of the Hall, within an area developed as ornamental woodland by Horatio Walpole in the late C19. The so-called Chapel Garden is planted with box, yew, and laurel with a wide range of trees and is scattered with a diverse collection of small follies, including fragments of medieval masonry such as a C15 gateway arch (listed grade II) and a C15 porch arch (listed grade II).
Mannington Hall does not have any surrounding parkland although the area to the east of the Chapel Garden (outside the area here registered) was labelled as such on the 1742 map. It is thought likely that this area of grass and trees was used as an aesthetic backdrop to the garden without being consciously designed (UEA report). (Historic England Register of Historic Parks and Gardens > https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1001009])
