Kentwell Hall
East Coast
Long Melford

One of England's finest Historic Tudor houses, 10 acres of gardens & a calendar of Special Events & Living History

Kentwell Hall is Suffolk’s hidden gem and one of England’s finest Tudor manors that stands within one of the most extensive moats in the county.

Kentwell’s gardens and grounds that extend to over 30 acres’s are often described as ‘magical’ and as one visitor quoted: ‘around every corner is a surprise’.  

Kentwell's Gardens provide a haven of tranquility and beauty in a challenging world.  A feeling of naturalness - they are not over-manicured - where visitors can lose themselves in the moment.  The 16th C House and 15th C Moat House are ever present.  Their beauty and the usually still waters of the moats, disturbed only by fish and fowl, set the tone.  There is an aura of timelessness created by the mellow red brick and the water of the extensive moats and the ancient trees from our 1000 year-old oak to a lawn guarded by England's most majestic Cedars.

There is also a strong sense of the past which is not surprising given that the Gardens have developed over six centuries and the keen eye will find elements from each.  There's a sense of fun too; from the sculpted tree and courtyard maze to the yew castle and varied topiary, some of it truly massive, encountered throughout.  Topiary here is not a constant dull green but has may hues and as many shapes.  All the shaping is not green; the gnarled arms of the ancient espalier fruit trees, the hornbeam hedge of the magic circle or the long avenue of pyramidical lime trees all as striking bare as when in full leaf.

A twelve year-old boy recently volunteered after spending two hours in the Gardens, having been dragged here by a parent, that he was not bored for a moment.  That's to be expected when the gardens are decorated with a different feeling during events, but he was describing a day without any.  These are gardens to make you smile whatever your age.

The house is a classic example of an Elizabethan e-Plan manor house and was probably started in the reign of Henry VIII. Internally there has been some change but Kentwell still retains its grandeur including the Great Hall with its Minstrel’s Gallery. With many areas to the house it offers the visitor a journey through time from the Great Kitchen - with its huge open fireplace, the Gothic centre block; the work of Thomas Hopper in the 1820’s to the State Bedroom created by Hopper for a visit from the then Duke of York.
A truly magical house in stunning grounds.

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