Location

Hales Hall is situated in an unspoilt rural position approached over Hales Common and surrounded by gently undulating farmland and woodland. Norwich, the Cathedral city and regional centre of East Anglia, is about 13 miles to the northwest and the Waveney Valley market towns of Beccles and Bungay are both just 5 miles. Nearby, the town of Loddon has good everyday shopping facilities and access to the south Broads Network can be gained from the River Chet, which flows into the River Yare. Southwold, on the Suffolk Heritage Coast, is about 17 miles.

There are mainline railway stations at both Norwich and closer to London, Diss (17 miles) with regular trains to London Liverpool Street with an approximate journey time of 90 minutes.

Description

There has been a house on this site for upwards of 1,000 years. The present house and barn were built by Sir James Hobart in 1478 and the house we see now is a surviving wing of this great Tudor house, which was restored in 1971 and refurbished more recently by previous owners.

Situated in the grounds to the south of the main house is the Great Barn, at 184ft the largest brick built Tudor barn in England. This was also restored and was reroofed in 1996. The barn has become a deservedly wonderful venue for events (https://haleshall.com) with current planning permission for up to forty-eight weddings per year and a significant income can be generated from this.

The Property
The property underwent further extensive restoration and refurbishment around 2014 which was carried out by previous owners to the highest standards. This included total overhaul and restoration of the main 1601 roof, which was retiled with the reinstatement of thirteen dormer windows to the north and south sides, rebuilding of the original Tudor chimneys in Tudor bricks, reinstatement of seven bricked in windows with new oak frames and leaded lights to match the originals, rewiring throughout, installing a five amp lighting circuit in all rooms and an LED lighting system, and re-plumbing throughout with cast iron radiators in the principal rooms. Internally, all the walls were insulated and re-plastered in lime plaster with 50mm of internal wall insulation and 150mm of insulation throughout the new roof. A magnificent custom-built kitchen with an Aga was installed and with the provision of seven new bathrooms; five of which have cast iron roll top baths with marble vanity units, together with power showers in custom-made shower enclosures by Hans Grohe & Philip Starck WCs. In addition, a new oak staircase rising to all three floors was installed and a new drainage system with a Klargester sewerage treatment installed at the main house as well as an industrial septic tank system for the lavatories associated with the barn. Between 2017 and 2020 the property has been redecorated throughout. A new roof was completed on the Cottage, a new generator was purchased for the property and an electric
front gate added. Handcrafted wooden signage has been added across the estate in keeping with the Hales Hall branding and a stunning external lighting scheme has been created to show off the buildings and gardens to dramatic effect at night.

The Grounds
The house is approached from the east via a gravelled drive lined by a mixed avenue of maple, oak, chestnut and copper beech trees. The drive divides with a spur off to the left towards the Great Barn. The main drive leads through oak entrance gates and sweeps around to the south front of the house which overlooks the main formal gardens. The drive also divides and leads round to the Gate House Cottage and to the north of the house.

The gardens and grounds of Hales Hall are an outstanding feature and are arranged as follows; the main formal gardens lie to the south of the house and are extensively laid to lawn with a great variety of elaborately trimmed yew and box topiary. There are various ornamental trees including mulberry and magnolia. The drive curves round and leads under the Gate House Cottage joining with the north drive where there is a further extensive area of lawn and an avenue of beech trees with fine views over the surrounding meadow and farmland. Situated to the west of the formal gardens lies part of the original moat and there is a most attractive area of formal garden extending westwards from the Gate House Cottage lined by yew hedging with boxed topiary and well stocked mixed herbaceous beds with a variety of old-fashioned rambling roses. This leads down to a seating area bordered by the moat.

The Barn
The Great Barn forms a splendid backdrop to the house situated to the north and is separated from the formal gardens by a fine red brick wall. To the north of the Great Barn, there is an extensive gravelled parking area and an oak framed cloister with stone paving. Situated to the northwest of the barn, there is a range of single storey farm buildings divided into garaging and stores and where the male and female lavatories for the use of the barn are situated. To the south of the Great Barn, there is a further gravelled parking area which has been used for additional parking. There is a well-stocked mixed orchard and an area of meadowland. The whole area in all extends to about 9 acres.

Directions

Leave Norwich on the A146 Beccles Road and after passing Loddon and the turning to Hales on the left, continue for a short distance and turn right into a small slip road signposted Wash Lane (also marked with a brown tourist sign to Hales Hall). After a short distance, turn right again and this leads
onto an unmade road which crosses over Hales Common. At the end of this road, the drive to Hales Hall will be found. The postcode for the property is NR14 6QW. However, do not rely on Sat Nav which will take you to the wrong location. Co-ordinates for the Sat Nav are 52.5102, 1.4900 or use the
directions above.