Felbrigg Hall was built in the 17th century for Thomas Windham and his son William, descendants of the wealthy merchant who had purchased the estate in 1459.
Thomas was responsible for the Jacobean south entrance front. Built of plaster-covered brick and flint with stone dressings, it was almost certainly the work of Robert Lyminge. The two bays and central porch are crowned with the words 'Gloria Deo in Excelsis' pierced through the stone parapet along the roof.
William Windham I extended the house 50 years later in a greatly contrasting style. There is an abrupt transition from the romantic Jacobean entrance front to the classical west wing.
The late 17th century building was designed by William Samwell and has sash windows and a hipped roof. The classical exterior conceals ornate plasterwork probably by Edward Gouge.
In 1749 William Windham II inherited the estate and he commissioned James Paine to remodel some of the rooms to house the considerable collection of pictures acquired on his five year Grand Tour.
The best of these paintings are now hung in the Cabinet in the west wing and include works by Giovanni Battista Busiri.
Paine's splendid 18th century interiors, with some rococo plasterwork by Joseph Rose the Elder, lie within the 17th century building.
The Gothick library was designed by Paine to complement the Jacobean facade. The fine collection of books here was started by William Windham II and greatly extended by his politician son, who was a friend of Dr Johnson.
Today the 18th century rooms remain much as they were during William Windham II's time.
There are 27 rooms on view including the Domestic Wing. This gives visitors an idea of the work involved in running a country house and life 'below stairs'.
Felbrigg's undulating park, with superb mature woodland, reaches right up to the front of the house.
Many of the thousands of the oaks, beeches, maples and sycamores were planted in William Windham I's time. He planted the foundation of the 600 acre Great Wood which shelters Felbrigg from the winds off the North Sea, just two miles away.
The last squire of Felbrigg planted 200,000 trees and laid out the V-shaped rides in Victory Wood to commemorate VE day.
The walled garden to the north of the drive has a dovecot and is partly ornamental and partly a traditional kitchen garden.
An isolated flint church in the grounds contains memorials to generations of the Windham family and is the only remnant of the village that once stood there.
The grounds can be explored with the use of a variety of marked walks.
2009 HOUSE: 4Apr-1Nov 11:00-17:00 Mon-Wed & Sat-Sun. GARDENS: see website. Estate: daily all year dawn-dusk.Open Bank Hol Mons and Good Fri.Last entry 30min before close.
Tel: 01263 837444 Felbrigg Hall Website
