Overstrand Hall Explained

Overstrand Hall
Building Type:English country house
Location:Overstrand, Norfolk, England
Client:Charles Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon
Owner:Kingswood Learning and Leisure Group Ltd.
Coordinates:52.9186°N 1.3315°W
Start Date:1899
Completion Date:1901
Architect:Edwin Lutyens

Overstrand Hall is a country house in Overstrand, Norfolk, England, designed by Edwin Lutyens for Charles William Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon, a partner in Glyn, Mills & Co. Bank. It was built between 1899 and 1901 and is Grade II listed as of 27 September 1972.[1] The Mills family used Overstrand as a weekend residence, preferring their homes Hillingdon Court and Dorton House as their main residences.

Nicholas Pevsner described Overstrand as "one of (Lutyens's) most remarkable buildings, at the time when he had reached maturity but still believed to the full in his own inventiveness." The house is of a complex courtyard plan, with a varied range of materials, "stone with half-timbering, flint with brick and tile," and styles, "Jacobean with classical, vernacular with Italianate." Burke's and Savills Guide to Country Houses: East Anglia describes the hall as "an important early work by Lutyens, his first large work outside the Home Counties."

During the First World War, the hall was used as a military hospital and the Mills family sold the house for use as a convalescent home in 1932.[2] Currently (2018), the hall is home to Kingswood residential activity centre.[3]

Kingswood activity centre

Overstrand Hall has been a Kingswood residential activity centre since 1999,[4] catering for 7–17 year olds.

References

Notes and References

  1. British Listed Buildings on-line
  2. Web site: Good Stuff . Overstrand Hall - Overstrand - Norfolk - England . British Listed Buildings . 1972-09-27 . 2016-09-06.
  3. https://www.kingswood.co.uk/locations/overstrand-hall/ Kingswood Overstrand Hall
  4. Web site: Inspiring Learning History.