Visit to Oxburgh

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Mary had asked us to plan where to go on the Bank Holiday on 29 August 2011. I suggested visiting Oxburgh Hall which we visited with my mother in 2005.

We remembered the red brick wall, moated manor house, church, vegetable garden, and woodland walks.

As we arrived at the Car Park, we decided to do woodland walks starting from the church. We followed the numbers and arrows. There were wooden sculptures, e.g. rabbit, squirrel, owl, heron and a green man and we saw them while following the signs. The woodland trail took us to the woodland surrounded by lush countryside, viewpoint to the manor house, and a little stream.

John and Mary had planned doing picnic and brought folding chairs. However, it wasn’t warm enough to do picnic on 29 August and we decided to have lunch in his car. While having lunch, we started reading out the interesting part of the history of Oxburgh and its occupants.

The Oxburgh Hall was built by Sir Edmund Bedingfeld in 1482, at the height of the Wars of the Roses, and has been home for the Bedingfeld family for five centuries. The Bedingfeld family were devout Catholics so that they continued supporting the Catholic faith during the long suppression period. Oxburgh’s mellow medievalism came back into fashion in the Victorian era, when the restriction on Catholic worship was eased. This encouraged the 6th Baronet to build a new neo-Gothic chapel and redecorate the interiors of the moated manor house. The 9th Baronet faced the financial difficulties and was forced to sell the house in 1951. It was said that the condition of the house was dire and dreadful. It would have been demolished if Sybil, Lady Bedingfeld hadn’t made the effort to save the house. She bought the house back and gave the property to the National Trust.

We crossed over the bridge to the courtyard and started looking round the house from the South Passage. We looked round the Saloon, West Drawing Room, Staircase, Library, Small Dining Room, North Room, Boudoir, Marian Hanging Room, King’s Room, and Queen’s Room. I remembered distinctive and vivid wallpapers, portraits of the Kings and their relatives, oak furniture with intricate carvings, collections of porcelain, old books, needlework representing Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick, the display of the armoury collections, and a series of documents which Sir Edmund Bedingfeld was given the permission to build the fort in Norfolk etc. We noted from the information sheet that each glass piece of the chandeliers was cleaned and polished during the winter season. Furniture, portraits, and ornaments looked brighter in the Saloon. The elegant and decorative Russian style meals were presented in the Dining Room.

We went up to the roof via the spiral staircase and overlooked the gardens, woodland, and countryside.

We popped in the church. I lit up the candle and prayed for the people who were affected by earthquake and tsunami. We admired the colour coordination of selections of flowers in the parterre garden, strolled through the herbaceous border, and vegetable garden. Dahlias were blooming beautifully and we were amazed with huge pumpkins and healthy looking herbs and vegetables and fruits.

We enjoyed the visit to Oxburgh Hall and estate on 29 August 2011 and would like to come back there again.

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