Honing Hall

Honing Hall is a house built in 1748, with alterations made by Sir John Soane between 1788 and 1790, and further changes by Humphry Repton in 1792. The building is constructed of brick and has a roof made of black glazed pantiles. It features five bays across two and a half storeys, plus a basement. The central three bays project forward and are topped with a pediment that includes a cartouche and decorative fruit and foliage trails. The main entrance is a central door located beneath a pedimented doorcase supported by unfluted Ionic columns and pilasters, which hold up a plain entablature and pediment adorned with modillions. All windows are sash types with glazing bars, set beneath gauged skewback arches. Repton added a platband at the first floor in 1792, and there is a timber eaves cornice with consoles. The hipped roof is flat with two symmetrically placed stacks.

On the west side, there is a one-bay return leading to a full-height bowed extension designed by Soane. This section has three sash windows on each floor, all with glazing bars and gauged skewback arches, which appear to have been replaced during Soane's work. The platband by Repton continues into the returns, and the console timber eaves cornice matches the facade. The east return has five bays, with the central ground floor window converted into a French window. To the right is a dining room featuring a tripartite sash window, while the rest of the fenestration remains consistent with the previous design. The rear of the property includes a two-storey, five-bay service range built between 1868 and 1870 by R.M. Phipson from Norwich and Ipswich, following a double pile plan, with sash windows beneath gauged skewback arches.

Inside, the entrance hall retains details from 1748, including a fireplace with a shouldered timber surround and a rectangular overmantle with a mirror, topped by a pediment on scrolled consoles. The late 18th-century staircase, attributed to Repton, features a wreathed handrail and wrought iron balusters, while the main staircase from 1748 was relocated during the 1868-70 renovations. This staircase has a closed string and widely spaced turned balusters with a ramped handrail. The library contains a 19th-century plaster fireplace adorned with female caryatid figures.