Location

Mentioned in the Domesday Book and centring around Westhorpe Hall, the village is steeped in history. Today, Westhorpe is a quiet, peaceful village off the beaten track and the hall is situated in a quiet, peaceful position with views across the surrounding Suffolk countryside. The nearby village of Walsham-le- Willows provides everyday amenities including butchers/general store, primary school and historic village inns. Westhorpe is situated between the principal towns of Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Diss, the latter two providing a mainline rail link to London's Liverpool Street.

Description

Westhorpe Hall is an attractive Georgian fronted country house constructed from brick and timber frame, with mainly plastered elevations under various tiled roofs. The property is listed Grade II of special architectural and historical importance. The Hall retains several features expected of this era although due to the recent change of usages and more recently, care home use, has been adapted with internal stud partition walling, fire doors, sprinkler system, commercial kitchen and numerous cloakrooms to each bedroom along with the substantial modern additions.

HISTORIC NOTE

Westhorpe Hall's 'royal' history

The village of Westhorpe is very proud of its Tudor and royal connections, and Westhorpe Hall is central to both. In 1514 Henry VIII sent his seventeen year-old sister to France to marry the then King, Louis XII. However this fifty-three-year-old died three months after their marriage, so Henry duly despatched his trusted friend Charles Brandon, the First Duke of Suffolk, to France to escort Mary home.

Charles and Mary had been childhood friends and, to the immense outrage of Henry, in March 1515 the two secretly married in Paris. Whilst many in England feared for Brandon's life (after all he had technically committed treason by marrying a royal princess without the King's consent), with the aid of Thomas Wolsey, Henry eventually forgave them.

In the same year Brandon acquired the Manor of Westhorpe and he and Mary set up their home here. They quickly built Westhorpe Hall, spending the modern equivalent of over £1 million on it to create a grand, estate house with sixteen principal rooms arranged around a central courtyard and a chapel with stained glass windows. The house was surrounded by a moat and above the three-arched brick bridge stood a porter's lodge.

Outside of the moated area were extensive gardens designed in the 'French manner' and the wider parkland contained both Red and Fallow deer.

Mary, who preferred the title the Queen of France, bore Brandon four children, but died at Westhorpe Hall on 25th June 1533 aged just 37. Her body was embalmed and lay in the Hall's chapel before an elaborate funeral procession walked the coffin to the Abbey in Bury St Edmunds. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries her body was moved to St Mary's church in Bury where her tomb can be seen today.

The house was pulled down in 1785. The only feature remaining from that Tudor period being the three-arched bridge - one of the few remaining Tudor bridges in East Anglia. The present building which features a superb Georgian red brick façade with the Brandon coat of arms over the doorway, replaced the 'palace' and in time the Hall became a family home, public house, hotel, and finally a care home in the 1980s.


OUTSIDE

Westhorpe Hall is set well back from the road approached by a
long drive which leads to the barn and also the hall. The drive
then divides and continues over the Tudor bridge and onto
a large parking area to the side of the house. There is a further
access from the rear of the property over the moat (a Scheduled Ancient Monument) connecting back to the parking
area. The established gardens lie mainly to the front of the
house. The adjoining meadow is available by separate
negotiation (Lot 3). To the east of the house is an orchard area
which is understood to be the garden, historically laid out as
the 'French style' gardens. The moat continues around the
property, part of which was dredged out in 1990/91 and
part remains untouched from the time the original palace was
dismantled.

Lot 2: Westhorpe Hall Barn

Westhorpe Hall Barn is a superb Grade II listed barn with adjoining modern former agricultural livestock and machinery buildings. Subject to the necessary consents the barn would convert into an impressive standalone property. The main barn features some of the most impressive oak beams especially in the roof. The various additions to the main barn create an impressive footprint of the property. There is a rear courtyard and a stand-alone cart lodge.

Lot 3: Front Meadow

Located to the south of the house and adjoining the house garden is a meadow which is well screened from the road by a belt of trees and amounting to about 2.3 acres.

Directions

From Bury St Edmunds take the A143 towards Diss. When you pass Ixworth take the 3rd exit at the roundabout towards Walsham le Willows. Continue on to Ixworth Road, turn right on to The Causeway, turn left on to Palmer Street, turn right on to Crownland Road. Continue through Church Road and through the village and the house entrance will be seen on the left.

What3words/// skill.eats.lawyer