Earsham Hall

Earsham Hall is an early 18th-century house with significant work by Sir John Soane around 1784, alongside a 17th-century office wing and some late 19th-century alterations. The house was designed and built circa 1707 by John Buxton, an amateur architect, and was sold to Colonel Windham in 1721. It is a large, plain red brick house with a parapet, hipped slate roof, moulded stone cornice, and string courses. The house has three storeys. The east front has a 2:3:2 bay arrangement, with the central three bays set slightly back. It features tall sash windows with glazing bars, flat rubbed brick arches above, and a first-floor central bay with three windows set within a moulded architrave with a cornice on console brackets. A later porch sits in the centre of the ground floor, replacing a colonnade. The south elevation has five bays, with a later ground-floor bay window. A north-east wing, dating from circa 1750, includes the Duke of Cumberland’s dining room, with a later storey added above. Adjoining this wing to the north is a late 17th-century wing or offices, which is part of the earlier house. This long red brick range has a steep black glazed pantile roof with hipped ends, two storeys and an attic, and exhibits a 4:3:6 bay arrangement, with the centre advanced slightly and featuring a shaped gable containing a clock face. The windows are mainly two-light mullion/transom casements under segmental arches, with four gabled dormers. A cupola sits above the centre, and a brick string course is at floor level. A service wing adjoins the north-east wing and is a circa 18th-century red brick block with a hipped black glazed pantile roof and three storeys. The south elevation is asymmetrical, with a 1:4:1 bay arrangement, and the end bays are advanced. The east elevation has four bays with segmental-headed casements. The interior includes an entrance hall with a marble chimney piece and a staircase featuring three turned balusters to each tread. The drawing room has two contemporary marble chimney pieces and plaster ceilings. There are other contemporary panelled rooms and later 18th-century chimney pieces. A small ground floor room retains 17th-century panelling from an earlier house. Soane’s library was added to the south-east around 1784, featuring a fine plastered ceiling and frieze, a marble chimney piece and, originally, a collection of bookshelves. The Duke of Cumberland’s dining room from circa 1750 includes fine plasterwork, panelling and a marble chimney piece.