GRADE I LISTED HALL STEEPED IN HISTORY
THIS STUNNING TUDOR HOME HAS LINKS TO CARDINAL WOLSEY AND
PANELLING TO DIE FOR
I'm a sucker for a timber-framed house and this Tudor hall in Suffolk has the icing on the cake: it's moated on two sides. Otley Hall dates from the early 16th century and was once the seat of the Gosnold family, well connected lawyers during the reign of Henry VIII, until it was sold in 1674.
Today it is one of the few Grade I Listed houses in Suffolk that remains in private ownership, and if you have £2.5m to spare it could be yours! Let's take a look around...
Set in grounds of almost ten acres it boasts 10 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms over three floors. Outside the gardens, designed by Edwardian landscape gardener Francis Inigo Thomas, are a mix of formal and informal. There is an orchard, a croquet lawn and - a first for this site - a nuttery. Although I'm not quite sure what that is. There is also the obligatory swimming pool and tennis court, obvs.
The Great Hall, above, has some exceptional examples of oak panelling which continues in to the Linenfold Parlour (show below) where it is thought to have come from Cardinal Wolsey's chambers at Hampton Court Palace.
Silk tapestries were once suspended from the Tudor nails that remain in what was Robert Gosnold I's bedroom. I love the detailing around the fireplace in this room.
The kitchen takes up an entire wing and although the units themselves aren't particularly special it does have a minstrel's gallery. The perfect spot for guests to mingle whilst watching the cook slave away below :-)
Otley Hall is currently run as a wedding venue and is open to the public but as it is a private home you need to make an appointment if you wish to visit. So while it may not be financially possible to be Lady of the Manor I could certainly indulge my passion for historical homes for a tiny fraction of the price.
Otley Hall is for sale through Savills for £2.5m.
If you would like to enquire about visiting for a tour of the house and gardens visit otleyhall.co.uk