Otley Hall Explained

Otley Hall is a 16th-century English manor house[1] in the civil parish of Otley, in the East Suffolk district, Suffolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building.[2] The manor was previously known as Netherhall Manor.[3]

The Gosnold period

John Gosnold at first rented what became Otley Hall. By the sixteenth century Otley Manor was vested in the Gosnold family building, and soon their new building gained the status of a manorial building.[4] Robert Gosnold was responsible for building the oldest extant parts of the building in 1512.[1] The four-centred arch that provides the entrance bears his initials.[5]

The Gosnold family relinquished control of the building around 1668 when it was sold Sir Anthony Deane.[6]

Rebow period

Isaac Rebow bought Otley Hall in 1686. However, although the property remained in their family possession for over 200 years, it was never used by them as a residence. They let the property to tenant farmers on long leases. From 1763 it was rented by the Ling family for many years. However, when William Ling went bankrupt in 1880, the tenancy was taken over by Frederick Miller. When the Rebows sold the estate in 1900, Miller bought the property.[4]

The Sherston period

In 1910 Dorothy Sherston, the daughter of General William Parke, bought the house from Miller as a family home following her marriage to Somerset Sherston.

Otley Hall gardens

The gardens were redesigned by Inigo Thomas,[7] with a knot garden designed by Sylvia Landsberg.

References

52.1603°N 1.2254°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A visit to Otley Hall - the birthplace of the Virginia Company . British Heritage . British Heritage . 29 January 2023 . en.
  2. Web site: Otley Hall. Historic England. 30 January 2023.
  3. Book: Coppinger . W. A. . The Manors of Suffolk Vol. 3. 1909 . Taylor Garnet & Evans . Manchester.
  4. Web site: History of Otley . otley.onesuffolk.net . Otley Parish Council . 2 February 2023.
  5. Book: Pevsner . Nikolaus, Sir . Suffolk . 1974 . 1975 . Penguin . Harmondsworth . 9780140710205 . 2nd.
  6. Book: Ling . Russell . Hawes . Lester . Otley Past: Folklore and Local History . 2012 . Russell Ling and Lester Haw4es . Otley.
  7. Web site: Otley Hall Garden . Gardenvisit.com . 29 January 2023.