Oxburgh Hall is a moated country house in Oxborough, Norfolk, England. Built for Sir Edmund Bedingfeld, who obtained a licence to crenellate in 1482, the manor has been home to the Bedingfeld family since its construction. The house is a notable example of a late medieval, inward-facing great house, standing within a square moat and featuring a fortified gatehouse described as one of the most prominent English brick gatehouses of the 15th century.
The hall is famous for its priest hole, constructed by Nicholas Owen. The Catholic Bedingfelds built the closet, which was accessed through a lavatory, to enable the concealment of priests. In addition to this hidden space, the house is notable for the Oxburgh Hangings. These are needlework hangings by Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick, which Mary worked on while she was imprisoned in England in the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury.
The estate has undergone various transformations over the centuries, including a mid-19th-century refurbishment by John Chessell Buckler and Augustus Pugin. This work included the addition of a chapel, a stable block, and a walled kitchen garden. Today, the National Trust manages the property, which was saved from demolition in 1951 by Sybil, Lady Bedingfeld, and her relatives. A recent project is underway to revert 175 acres of land back to wildlife-friendly woods and pasture.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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