Staine Hundred
A coachload of members of the Staine Hundred Local History Society and their
friends paid a visit to Norfolk on Tuesday 14 June. After a stop for coffee at
Weasenham, the party proceded to Holt Station where they boarded the train,
pulled by a steam engine, for a ride to Sheringham through pleasant rural
countryside though the rhododendrons were past their best.
Boarding the coach again at Sheringham, the next stop was at Felbrigg Hall
where members enjoyed lunch before making a tour of the house Hall which was
built about 1620, added to in 1680 and substantially altered during the 1850s.
For many years it was the home of the Windham family, until one of them married
a profligate prostitute who ran through his money so it had to be sold. The
last owner left the Hall, 500 acres of park, and the entire estate to the
National Trust on condition that it was kept exactly as it was, so it still
contains much of its 18th century furniture and many fine paintings., It has an
outstanding library which is the entire book collection of three different
people and contains books which belonged to Dr Johnson. The walled garden has
been restored, but the flower beds have not yet fully established themselves.
The greenhouses were also restored - the heated one providing a warm spot for
the bantam hen and cockerel escaping from the cool wind! There is also a
working dovecote within the walled garden.
Maureen Hughes, Chairman, thanked Stewart Bell for organizing another enjoyable outing,. with the help of Peter Arnold, Treasurer.