Rendlesham Hall Explained

Rendlesham Hall was a large manor house in the village of Rendlesham in Suffolk.

History

The hall was built in the pointed style in 1780[1] and two lodges, Woodbridge Lodge and Ivy Lodge, were added in 1790.[2] The hall was acquired by Peter Thellusson, a wealthy banker, in the name of his son, in 1796.[3] The son, the 1st Lord Rendlesham, who went into politics as a Member of Parliament, occupied the hall.[3]

The hall was destroyed by fire in 1830[3] and was rebuilt in Jacobean style to a design by William Burn.[3] The works, which were carried out by Lucas Brothers[4] were completed in 1870.[3] The new building had eight reception rooms, including a ballroom, a conservatory, twenty-five principal bedrooms with dressing rooms, nine secondary and thirteen servants' bedrooms, five bathrooms, eleven lavatories and extensive domestic offices.[3] There were of grounds with tennis and croquet lawns, and a 4acres walled kitchen garden in a park which extended to 250acres.[3]

The 5th Lord Rendlesham died in 1911, and the hall was put up for sale in 1920, but there were no bidders.[3] In 1923 the hall was sold for use as a sanatorium, in which use it remained until the Second World War, when it was occupied by the British Army.[3] For over 80 years the hall had played a major role in the social life of Suffolk, but after World War II it stood empty, and it was finally demolished in 1949.[3]

External links

52.134°N 1.4137°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=7625 A Vision of Britain through time
  2. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/584559 The Ivy Lodge at Rendlesham Hall
  3. http://www.archantsuffolk.co.uk/content/eadt/news/features/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=Features&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=xFeatures&itemid=IPED01%20Mar%202010%2013%3A45%3A46%3A607 Our vanishing country houses
  4. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/49439 Charles Thomas Lucas at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography