Sheringham Hall: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Sheringham Hall''' is a [[Grade II* listed buildings in North Norfolk|Grade II*]] listed building which stands in the grounds of [[Sheringhamits Park]] which is in the care of the [[National Trust]]park.<ref name="NT">{{cite web|title=History of Sheringham Park|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sheringham-park/history/|work=References to the purchase and building of the Hall|publisher=The National Trust|accessdate=24 August 2014}}</ref> The house is close to the village of [[Upper Sheringham]] in the [[England|English]] [[County]] of [[Norfolk]] in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="OS252">{{cite book |title=OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East. |publisher=Ordnance Survey |date=2008-07-21 |edition=A3 |isbn=9780319240380 |page=1 |work=Ordnance Survey detailed Explorer Map}}</ref> The hall was built on the instructions of Abbot and Charlotte Upcher<ref name="CHOUSENOR">{{cite book |title=The Country Houses of Norfolk – The Major Houses |last=Clarke |first=David|publisher=Geo. R. Reeve Ltd, Wymondham, Norfolk |date=2006 |isbn=9780900616761 |page=85 |work=Details and description of Sheringham Hall}}</ref> who engaged the architect and landscape designer [[Humphry Repton]] and his son [[John Adey Repton]]<ref>Landscapes of Taste: The Art of Humphry Repton's Red Books (Classical Tradition in Architecture) (Hardcover) {{ISBN|0-415-41503-9}}</ref> to build the house and to present designs for the surrounding parklandsparkland. Humphry worked on the landscape and John Adey designed the hall.<ref name="PEVSN">{{cite book |title=Norfolk: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd |date=1976 |origyear= 1976 |isbn= 978-0300096071 |page=314 |work= Details and description of Sheringham hall}}</ref> TheNational houseTrust ismembers privatelyand occupiedguests byhave tenants<refno name="CHOUSENORrights "/>of access across the park and farmland surrounding Sheringham Hall. Access is notsolely openat tothe discretion of the publicowners butof canGeorge beYoungs viewed(Farms) fromLtd which farms the surroundingSheringham parklandestate. George Youngs (Farms) Ltd is owned by Paul Doyle and Gergely Battha-Pajor who also own the long leasehold of Sheringham Hall. {{cn|date=May 2024}}

== Description ==

The main body of the house is two storeys and has a low pitched slate roof.<ref name="PEVSN"/> To the south facing facade there is a bay to each side with a [[portico]] with four pairs Tuscan columns creating a veranda. This leads out ontoon to a terrace which runs right across the front of the south elevation. There is a porch over the main door on the western façade which is also supported by two pairs of [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]] columns. Above is a [[pediment]] embellished with the Upcher crest of a [[unicorn]] surrounded by five [[ostrich]] feathers.<ref name="CREST">{{cite web|title=Upcher Family Crest|url=http://www.myfamilysilver.com/crestfinder-search/upcher-family-crest|work=Images of the Upcher Family crest|publisher=© 2014 My Family Silver - Web design by Datadial|accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> Inside the house on the ground floor there are five rooms. The three rooms on the south front of the building start with a parlour to the south west corner, a dining room to the centre and a living room and library to the south east corner which takes up the whole of the east side of the house. OfOff this room there is a recessed breakfast room at right anglerecess to the eastern elevation. At the back of the house there is a study to the north west corner which leads off from the main door hallway. Next to the study is the service staircase down to the cellar and next to that is the main stairwell of a main corridor which runs through the centercentre of the house linking the main hall, dining room, stairwell and library-living room at the eastern end. To the north and west attached to the main body of the house there is a service wing. The main staircase is a curved cantilevered stair with stone treads with shaped soffits. The balustrade sits on the inner open stringer and is fabricated from cast iron with a hexagonal pattern. The handrail is made from hand carved wreathed [[mahogany]] with [[Nacre|mother of pearl]] and [[ebony]] inlay at the turned newel post.

=== Other estate buildings ===

==== The stable block and coachman's house ====

Set back and to the west of the hall stands the stable block and coachman's house which were also designed by [[John Adey Repton]]. This building is also a Grade II listed building.<ref name="LISTINGCH">{{cite web|title= Stables and Coach House Immediately West of Sheringham Hall, Upper Sheringham|url= http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-224647-stables-and-coach-house-immediately-west|work=Grade II listing details for Stable block and coach house|publisher=British Listed Buildings|accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref>

The brick built building is faced with pebble flintwork with gault brick quoining. The building is topped with a Welsh slate roof which has a central wooden [[cupola]] bell turret faced with a clock. This is topped with a gilded arrow [[Weather vane|weathervane]]. In front of the block is an enclosed courtyard with brick walls.

====Ivy Lodge ====

At the southern main entrance to the estate the gatehouse is called Ivy Lodge and was designed in the [[Cottage orné]] style by the Repton'sReptons. This lodge is also a Grade II listed building.<ref name="LISTINGIL">{{cite web|title=Ivy Lodge, Upper Sheringham

|url= http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-224654-ivy-lodge-upper-sheringham-norfolk|work=Grade II listing details for Stable Ivy Lodge|publisher=British Listed Buildings|accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref> The lodge is built over two storeys with the ground floor faced in Norfolk red bricks. The second floor is faced in pebble dashed render with some parts of render panels between black timber vertical stud posts. The south east corner of the lodge has a circular forward facing wing. The roof is now finished in plain red tiles and has wide overhanging eaves with finial to the top of the turreted roof. The lodge was extensively renovated in 1905 when the thatched roof was replaced with the tiled roof.

==== Lodge cottage ====

The hall and estate's east entrance from the nearby village of [[Upper Sheringham]] passes by another entrance lodge simply known as Lodge cottage. It is built over two storeys and is built from brick faced with pebble flint work with Norfolk red brick quoining. The south elevation has a projecting bay with a hip roof with the upper storey clad in dark shiplap timber planking. The house has a Norfolk pantile roof.

==== West Lodge ====

The West Lodge gatehouse is situated just ofoff the [[A149 road|A149]] coast road between Sheringham and [[Weybourne, Norfolk|Weybourne]]. It is on the north-west corner of Oak Wood which is the estatesestate's area of woodland on the hill north of the Hall. This gatehouse is no longer part of the estate and the drive which ran to the hall from here is no longer connected to the estate or hall. The building is a two-storey flint and tile house with a pantile roof and has been a private residence for many years.

==== The walled garden and gardener’s cottage ====

The walled garden and cottage are 250 metersmetres to the southnorth-east of the house and were constructed at the same time as the hall, and again to the ReptonReptons's plans. The wall and cottage are Grade II listed.<ref name="LISTINGIL2">{{cite web|title= Walled Garden, Upper Sheringham

|url= http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-495022-walled-garden-upper-sheringham-norfolk|work=Grade II listing details for Stable Ivy Lodge Walled Garden and gardeners cottage|publisher=British Listed Buildings|accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref> The garden is rectangular in plan and is bounded with high brick walls which are part-buttressed at stress points around the enclosure. The south wall of the garden has a number of lean-to greenhouses either side of the boundary wall. There are several auxiliary buildings and potting sheds. At the north-east corner of the enclosure there is a two-storey gardener's cottage which is integral to the boundary wall and a further two buildingbuildings attached to the north wall. The garden inside the walls was redesigned by Arabella Lennox-Boyd (born 1938). A classical openwork pavilion in cast iron was designed by John Simpson and erected in 2012 to mark the sixtieth year of the reign of Elizabeth II and the bicentenary of Humphry and John Adey Repton’s designs for Sheringham. The enclosure has three access points. The main entrance is a double door with brick support piers to either side which is located in the middle of the west wall. There is a connecting driveway to the hall from here. A second entrance is in the northsouth wall near to the buildings located there. The third access is a single doorentrance in the north eastsouth-west corner of the garden.

== History ==

The current hall atin Sheringham park was built close to the site of an earlier [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]] style hall, which was demolished, that had stood some 600 metersmetres east of today's hall. This house stood in a smaller estate and was owned by Cook Flower's Familyfamily who were an influential family from the [[Sheringham]] area. Records show that a Cook FlowersFlower<ref name="BRITHIS">{{cite web |title=British History online - Sheringham |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=78433 |work=Paragraph 11 reference to the three lords of the manor including Cook Flowers. |publisher=University of London & History of Parliament Trust |year=2014 |accessdate=21 August 2014}}</ref> was one of three lords of the manor in Sheringham<ref name="NATARCH">{{cite web |title=Upcher of Sheringham |url=http://apps.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=153-upc&cid=-1#-1 |work=Deed of the Sheringham Estate and Manor from Cook Flower to Abbott Upcher – includes bundled of previous conveyances of the estate |publisher=The National Archives |accessdate=21 August 2014}}</ref> In 1792 Cook Flower bought the previous house that stood here. It was described as an extensive and attractive estate. It was Cook Flower who began to landscape and plant the woodland on the hilltops around the house leaving the rolling pastures below as arable farmland.

===Sale to Abbot Upcher ===

Abbot Upcher<ref name="AUPCHER">{{cite web|title=National Trust Collections - Abbot Upcher (1784-1819) of Sheringhah|url=http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/800859|work=A painting of Abbot Upcher which is owned by the National Trust|publisher=National Trust|accessdate=25 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="AUPCHER2">{{cite web|title=Abbot Upcher 1784 - 1819|url=https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I107677&tree=Nixon|work=Family details for Abbot Upcher|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|accessdate=25 August 2014}}</ref> was the son of Peter and Elizabeth Upcher<ref name="CHOUSENOR "/> of [[Ormesby St Michael]] a small village seven miles from [[Great Yarmouth]]. He was married to Charlotte Wilson (eldest daughter of [[Henry Wilson, 10th Baron Berners]])<ref name="CHOUSENOR "/> and now had a rapidly growing family with a son called Henry Ramey Upcher and a daughter called Charlotte Mary. Upcher decided that what his family needed was a larger house and in 1811<ref name="CHOUSENOR "/> he purchased<ref name="NATARCH "/> the estate and the existing manor house owned by Cook Flower at Sheringham. After some negotiation a fee of £52,000<ref name="CHOUSENOR "/> was agreed between the two men and an agreement was signed with Flowers legal representative by the name of William Repton<ref name="CHOUSENOR"/> who resided in [[Aylsham]]. William Repton was the son of [[HumphreyHumphry Repton]] the [[Landscape architecture|landscape designer]] and [[architect]]. Upcher attended dinner<ref name="CHOUSENOR"/> with William Repton at the time of the purchase of the hall and estate and it was at this dinner where Upcher was introduced to William Repton's [[father]] Humphry Repton, the Landscape architect.<ref name="CHOUSENOR"/> It was during this dinner where it was discussed and agreed that Repton's father should oversee the design and construction of the house and the estate. [[Humphry Repton]] concentrated on the Landscaping whilst his other son, [[John Adey Repton]]<ref name="PEVSN"/> was placed in charge of the design and construction of the new hall.<ref name="AUDLY">{{cite web|title=Sheringham Hall, North Norfolk, England|url=http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/2961|work=Reference to John Adey Repton design og Sheringham hall|publisher=© Copyright Parks and Gardens Data Services Ltd. 2012.|accessdate=23 August 2014}}</ref> At this time Britain was at [[War of 1812|War]] with its [[British North America|North American colonies]] and its [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indian]] allies. This along with the continuing war with France, had put the country ininto toa deep recession. Repton was pleased to get the work, as in recent times his business had dried up and was putting him into increasing difficulties. He had also been badly injured in a carriage accident which had left him disabled and confined to a bath chair. The Upcher contract came as welcome relief. For the same reasons, Upcher had toned down his plans for his home and estate.

=== Construction ===

Two years after Upcher had purchased the property work finally began on the new hall on the 2 July 1812.<ref name="CHOUSENOR"/> By this time Humphry Repton had begun to recover from thehis accident but he increasingly relied on his son for the day-to-day running of the contract. One of the first scheduled jobjobs was to construct a new track (Now known as the Back Drive) down to the [[A149 road|coast road]] which would be necessary to transport all the building materials to the estate. The Gault bricks for the face brickwork of the hall wherewere from Lincolnshire and were brought to Norfolk by sea. Other materials arrived by train to nearby [[Weybourne railway station|Weybourne]] and [[Sheringham (North Norfolk Railway) railway station|Sheringham]] stations and hauled to site along the new road. Other building materials used on the new hall were reclamations from local sources. These included [[Oak]] retrieved from a wrecked ship at [[Blakeney, Norfolk|Blakeney]] and other timber from a local demolished [[granary]].<ref name="RECLAIM">{{cite web|title=Norfolk Heritage Explorer – Sheringham Hall|url= http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF6297|work=Reference to the reclamation of timber for the Hall|publisher=© 2007 - 2014 Norfolk Historic Environment Service|accessdate=23 August 2014}}</ref> The Repton'sReptons employed a clerk of works to oversee the job on the recommendation of Abbot Upcher.<ref name="CRPAR">{{cite book|title=Creating Paradise: The Building of the English Country House, 1660-1880|last=Wilson|first=Richard|publisher=Continnuum-3PL|date=18 November 2000|isbn=9781852852528|page=154|work=Reference to the collapse of the cellar roof during construction}}</ref> He had been the master of a local workhouse and although Upcher admired the man's diligence and enthusiastic attitude, this did not make up for his inexperience in the building trade.<ref name="CRPAR"/> Upcher allowed the clerk to have the wooden arch centres which had been used to form the cellar, removed prematurely. This was done at a time when there had been torrential rain in the area for several days. Unsurprisingly the removal of the arch [[Centring]]'s caused the collapse of the cellar ceiling throwing progress back quite considerably.<ref name="CRPAR"/> The construction of the house ran simultaneously with the landscaping of the estate. This work also included a terrace garden onto the north south of the hall which sat in the lee of the hill.

=== Tragedy ===

During the period of construction of the new house Abbot and his wife Charlotte moved into theCook Flower's old farmhouse close to the village of Upper Sheringham. By 1817 the house was nearing completion and the family hoped to move into the hall by the summer of that year. There was still work needed on the interior of the house and the work moved on to 1818. Unfortunately in March 1818 HumphreyHumphry Repton died as a consequence of the ill health caused by his carriage accident which he had never fully recovered from. In just under a year later Abbot Upcher died in February 1819<ref name="CHOUSENOR"/> succumbing to the illness that had plagued his health for many years, He was only aged 35. By the time of AbbotsAbbot's death the house was all but finished, but his wife Charlotte had lost interest in the new house and stayed in the old farmhouse. By the time of Abbot's death the house had cost £6,600.<ref name="COST">{{cite book|title=Creating Paradise: The Building of the English Country House, 1660-1880|last=Wilson|first=Richard|publisher=Continnuum-3PL|date=18 November 2000|isbn=9781852852528|page=256|work=Table 12 – The percentage cost of Labour material and carriage in the construction of Sheringham Hall}}</ref> Work was stopped on the house and it remained empty and unfinished until Abbot and Charlotte's son Henry Ramey Upcher married and he finished the hall and moved in with his family in 1839.<ref name="PEVSN"/>

Charlotte had remained in the farmhouse and dedicated herself to the village's wellbeing, the church and to her family. She was also instrumental in the inauguration of Sheringham's first lifeboat, the ''[[Augusta (lifeboat)|Augusta]]''.<ref name="FISHLIFE">{{cite book|title=The Fishermen's Lifeboat|last=Groves and Cox, Peter|first=Tim|publisher= Sheringham Town Council|date=1994|isbn=9780952481003|work=Reference to Charlotte Upcher’s involvement with the lifeboat}}</ref>

=== Upcher residency ===

By the time that Henry Upcher had finally completed the hall and moved in with his family in, the cost for the build had risen to £12,618.<ref name="COST"/> Henry lived in the hall with his wife Caroline and his 11 children.<ref name="HRUPCHER">{{cite web|title=Henry Ramey Upcher 1810 - 1892|url= https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I107854&tree=Nixon

|work=Family details for Henry Ramey Upcher|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> He died on the 30 March 1892 leaving the hall to [[Henry Morris Upcher]]<ref name="HMUPCHER">{{cite web|title= Henry Morris Upcher 1839 - 1921|url=https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I107977&tree=Nixon|work=Family details for Henry Morris Upcher|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> who was his eldest son, and his wife Maria. Henry was instrumental in the development of Sheringham town and spent time and money promoting the seaside resort, increasing its popularity.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Ibis|author=Gurney, JH|title=Obituary|pages= 540–543|year=1921|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1921.tb01287.x|url=https://archive.org/stream/ibis311brit#page/539/mode/1up|doi-access=}}</ref> Henry also became the [[High Sheriff of Norfolk]] in 1899<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27061|page=1660|date=10 March 1899}}</ref> and was elected [[alderman]] to the County Council in 1901. Henry had seven children and he left the hall to his eldest son Henry Edward Sparke Upcher.<ref name="HESUPCHER">{{cite web|title= Henry Edward Sparke Upcher 1870 - 1954|url=https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I108466&tree=Nixon|work=Family details for Henry Edward Sparke Upcher|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> Henry Edward Sparke Upcher was knighted and from 1941 until 1950 he was ChairmenChairman of [[Norfolk County Council]].<ref name="HESUPCHER2">{{cite web|title= Sir Henry Upcher (1870–1954), Chairman of Norfolk County Council (1941–1950)|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/sir-henry-upcher-18701954-chairman-of-norfolk-county-council-19411950-1550|publisher=[[Art UK]]|accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> Sir Henry died in 1954 and left his estate to his only child, a son. His full name was Henry Thomas Simpson Upcher but he went by the name Thomas. It was Thomas who completed HumphreyHumphry Repton's design for the estate when he erected a Temple in the park. This had always been included in Repton's original red book scheme for the estate. The Temple was built in 1975, 160 years after it was first envisaged by Repton, Thomas Upcher had it built to celebrate his seventieth birthday and although it is in a slightly different position to Repton's original specification it still commands the views of the estate and surrounding countryside intended by Repton. Thomas Upcher died in 1985. He was a bachelor and had no heir to whom to leave the house and estate toproperty. In 1986 the [[National Trust]] bought the wider estate and opened itparts upof it to the general public. The hallHall is not open to the public and is leasedowned outprivately toon a privatelong tenantsleasehold.

== Gallery ==

{{gallery

|lines=5

|File:Ivy Lodge Sheringham Park 26 August 2014 (1).JPG|Ivy Lodge was at the southern main driveway into Sheringham estate.

|File:Stable Block Sheringham Hall 27 August 2014.JPG|The stable block at Sheringham Hall with its [[cupola]] bell turret faced with a clock.