In the Middle Ages the manor of Melford belonged to the great Benedictine abbey of Bury St Edmonds.
After the dissolution of the monasteries it was granted to Sir William Cordell, a shrewd local lawyer who became Speaker of the House of Commons and later Master of the Rolls. He began his house in 1554 incorporating in it some of the old building.
The great U-shaped mansion with two long wings flanking the courtyard was constructed of red brick with stone decorations. Massive chimneys and turrets crowned with eastern onion domes rise from the Melford Hall's warm red-brick facades.
The house was complete by 1578 when Sir William entertained Queen Elizabeth I on a lavish scale at Melford Hall.
Despite the removal of the gatehouse range that once enclosed the courtyard and the disappearance of part of the moat, the exterior of the house is very much as it was when Elizabeth visited Melford Hall.
The changes and additions to Melford Hall are a reflection of the continual habitation of the house over the centuries.
In the 1730s and 1740s the Elizabethan screens in the hall were replaced with Doric columns and a large staircase was added.
In the same period a carved wooden chimneypiece and a mid-Georgian style ornamental ceiling were added to the Blue Drawing Room. In 1813 the library, designed by Thomas Hopper architect of Penrhyn Castle, was added. It was fitted with Regency bookcases and furnished with Greek style tables and chairs designed especially for the room.
Melford Hall was ransacked during the Civil War and suffered a disastrous fire in 1942 but the contents of the house still reflect the history of the hall and the families who have lived there.
The andirons in the Tudor great hall probably belonged to the earlier monastic building and were remounted by Sir William Cordell, who added his crest. The two Nonsuch chests (so called because they are decorated with illustrations of Nonsuch Palace) were reputedly given by Queen Elizabeth I to her host.
The hall is hung with portraits of the Cordell and Parker families.
Sir Harry Parker purchased Melford Hall in 1786 and devoted himself to the administration of the estate.
His father, brother and nephew, all named Hyde Parker, were distinguished admirals. In the Library are pictures of their naval exploits by Dominique Serves, marine painter to George III. The Parkers decorated the house with navel relics including a rare collection of Chinese porcelain captured from a Spanish galleon in 1762.
One of the rooms is now known as the Beatrix Potter Room. The authoress came to Melford Hall on many occasions when she visited her cousin, the wife of the 10th Baronet.
There are mementos of Beatrix Potter on display, including her paintings of the house and grounds.
The property remained in the hands of the Parker family until 1960 when it was accepted by the Treasury in part payment of death duties.
Behind the brick wall that shields Melford Hall from the road is a small garden with lawns planted with specimen trees including a tree of heaven, black mulberry and Judas tree and dotted with dome-shaped yews. In the north arm of the moat is a sunken garden next to a bowling green terrace.
2008: May-28 Sep: 13:30-17:00 Wed-Sun; 4 Oct-26 Oct: 13:30-17:00 Sat & Sun; Open Bank Hol Mons. Last entry 30mins before close.
Tel: 01787 376395 - Infoline Melford Hall Website
