Henham Park
Henham Park is an estate just north of the village of Blythburgh in Suffolk, England. It lies at the intersection of the A12 and A145 main roads. The current owner is Keith Rous, The Sixth Earl of Stradbroke, ‘The Aussie Earl’.
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[edit] History
Sir Anthony Rous, Knight of Dennington (Suffolk) purchased Henham in 1544. At this time there was a large red brick Tudor manor on the park, which was burnt down in 1773 while the 6th Baronet John Rous was away.[1] Sir John, later the 1st Earl of Stradbroke, built a new hall in 1790 using the architect James Wyatt with accompanying parkland design by Humphrey Repton.[1] The building was updated in 1858 by architect Edward Barry to give it a Victorian gloss:[1] the work was carried out by Lucas Brothers.[2]
This hall was demolished by the 4th Earl of Stradbroke in 1953[1] despite attempts by his brother, later the 5th Earl, to keep the house intact.
The fourth Earl died in 1983 with his brother becoming the fifth Earl for only four days before also passing away. Robert Keith Rous – at that time a businessman and sheep grazier in Australia – then inherited Henham and became the Sixth Earl of Stradbroke. This was however not without difficulty and a protracted court battle led to a family feud which still separates the Rous family to this day.
A horse mill used to operate on the estate, one of only two known in Suffolk. This is now preserved at the Museum of East Anglian Life at Stowmarket.
[edit] Events and Other Uses
The estate hosts the Latitude Music Festival, Wings and Wheels[3] and Grand Henham Steam Rally as well as remaining a working farm. There is a brewery[4] and bed and breakfast accommodation located on the site as well as a series of walking trails.[5]
[edit] External links
- Henham Park Online
- Henham Park 100 miles from London — Milestones Web
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Mackley.A Henham Hall - a lost house, March 2000. Retrieved 2009-09-03
- ^ Charles Thomas Lucas at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Wings and Wheels. Retrieved 2009-09-03
- ^ Hektors Brewery. Retrieved 2009-09-03
- ^ Henham Park Online. Retrieved 2009-09-03
