Somerleyton Hall

Somerleyton Hall is a mansion with a small 16th-century core, largely rebuilt in 1844 by John Thomas for Sir Morton Peto. It is constructed of red brick with stone dressings and has a slate roof. The architectural style is principally Jacobean. The house is mainly two storeys with attics.

The entrance front has a nine-bay central section flanked by projecting wings of five bays on the left and three bays on the right. Large, multi-paned cross windows are set within quoined stone surrounds. A cornice and flat parapet break in the centre to display the Crossley family arms. Shaped gables are present on the wings. A single-storey stone loggia of French Renaissance derivation extends across the centre, featuring semi-circular headed windows, two open arches, and an elaborately carved projecting porch with a cupola. A heavy entrance door has moulded panels. Various stacks are present, as well as groups of detached octagonal shafts. Set back to the left is a tall, square Italianate tower with a pierced stone parapet surmounted by urns.

The garden front is symmetrical, arranged in eleven bays in a 1:4:1:4:1 configuration; the windows are similar to those on the entrance front, but with solid stone surrounds. Wide, three-storey end bays are enriched by engaged square columns and feature two-storey, five-light canted bay windows. A central, three-storey stone porch is open to the ground floor and has a first-floor oriel window; superimposed orders of enriched engaged square columns are present. A pierced stone parapet is broken by a range of eight hooded dormers and by coats of arms on the end bays.

The interior features a panelled entrance hall with marble-inlaid panels framed by twelve carved oak columns; a dome is fitted with stained glass panels depicting local game birds. The staircase hall has a heavy-panelled ceiling on console brackets, and a heavy oak staircase with turned balusters and square newel posts. The main drawing room, now called the ballroom, has an ornate panelled ceiling in a Jacobean style, and opposing marble statuary fireplaces. The adjacent Oak Parlour contains reused woodwork from the earlier house, including late 17th-century panelling, early 18th-century carved doorcases, and a boldly-carved overmantel frieze and drops in the style of Gibbons. Two carved doorcases and a matching fireplace in the Dining Room are also likely reused 18th-century features. The present library was created around 1920 when the two-storey Banqueting Hall was floored over – this is the only significant alteration to the interior layout. The surrounding park and gardens are historically registered at Grade II*.