A Norfolk family has put one of the county’s oldest properties - and now a popular wedding venue - back up for sale for a cool £3.9m.
A house has sat on the same site as Hales Hall, near Loddon, for over a thousand years. Even the present property, which includes a Grade I listed house and the largest brick-built Tudor barn in England, dates back to 1478 - making it one of the oldest and best restored in the county.
It’s no surprise, then, that owner Helen Johnston and her family want to find the perfect buyer.
The family bought the property six years ago and have since grown it to become a popular wedding venue and high-end holiday let.
In 2020, the entire estate - which includes nine acres, a moat and various other outbuildings including a gatehouse and cottage - was let out for £14,000 a week and, just recently, Helen tells me that a Grammy and Brit-award winning singer has used it as a rehearsal space for their upcoming tour.
The family actually put the property on the market in 2021 but an unexpected chain break – “nothing very exciting or dramatic,” Helen tells me – saw them keep hold of it for a bit longer. “We made the decision to sell after Covid – not because of Covid but because we’ve all got lots of other bits and pieces going on.
“What’s important for us is that we sell it to the right people who are going to love and cherish Hales.”
The barn and hall at Hales are the surviving remains of the wing of Sir James Hobart’s once great house. He served as attorney general to Henry VII and his great grandson, Sir Henry Hobart, later built Blickling Hall.
The estate was acquired from Sir Roger de Hales, whose daughter married the Duke of Norfolk. Sir James created a unique triple-moated complex with defensive walls and a massive hall, barn with windows to defend it, a gatehouse and cottages.
Helen and her family have owned the property for six years, she says, but it hasn’t had many other owners in the decades before. “It had one amazing couple – the Reads - who brought it back from the brink and owned it for about 40 years,” Helen explains. “And then another couple before us who did lots more renovations, and then we’ve done more.”
When Terry and Judy Read bought it in 1971, the entire estate had fallen into disrepair. They spent around four decades restoring it, scooped an award for their work and even chronicled the process in a book they wrote called Hales Hall in Loddon: The Restoration and Story of a Once Great Norfolk House.
Over the years, the renovations have included the total overhaul and restoration of the main roof, which dated back to 1601. As part of the works, it was completely re-tiled and had 13 dormer windows reinstated to the north and south sides.
Its original Tudor chimneys were also rebuilt, seven new windows put in – complete with leaded lights to match the originals – and the building completely rewired, insulated and re-plastered.
Other work has included the installation of a custom-built kitchen, complete with an Aga, seven new bathrooms and a new staircase to connect the three floors. In the past few years, it has also been completely redecorated.
The Great Barn sits to the north of the house and provides a stunning backdrop. At 184ft, it is the largest brick-built Tudor barn in England, and it has now been given a new lease of life as a one-of-a-kind event venue.
Helen says it has been a real privilege to own the property. While they have not used it as their family home, it has become a vital part of their family business and it offers real flexibility for both.
“With a place like this, there’s lots of wonderful opportunities,” she says. “It’s just perfect, whether it’s for somebody who wants to buy it as a private home or somebody who wants to continue the weddings or other events. It works both ways.”
The accommodation is proportioned, she says. “It’s not like a big old draughty house – it’s just beautifully restored, not by us but the previous owners.”
It has all the style and flair of an interior-designed house, she says, because its previous owners were. “It’s been absolutely exquisitely created and designed but it’s not draughty, it’s warm and cosy even though it is large.
“You’ve also got the separate dwellings – the cottage and the gatehouse and the garden rooms – so it’s super flexible. It works if you want to be a family who lives there and just has the house and then rents out the small accommodation for events in the barn.
“Or, you know, you rent out the whole thing or you keep all the accommodation to yourself and just have events in the barn.
“It works if it’s somebody with a private collection of cars they want to keep in the barn, or an art collection, or… I suppose it’s the flexibility that’s so incredible about it because of the way it is divided up.”
The entire estate, which extends to around nine acres, is for sale for £3.9m, making it one of the most expensive properties for sale in Norfolk at the moment.
Natalie Howlett-Clarke, joint head of residential sales at Savills in Norfolk, says: “Hales Hall is a magnificent Grade I listed Tudor house in the most magical setting.
“The surviving wing was restored in 1971 and refurbished more recently by previous owners, while the Great Barn was restored and reroofed in 1996 – deservedly becoming a wonderful venue for events, with permission for up to 48 weddings per year.
“Whether enjoying the property as a home or deriving an income from it, Hales Hall offers great flexibility. It is a truly wonderful property.”
Contact Savills for more details.
PROPERTY FACTS
Hales Hall Lane, Norwich
Guide price: £3,900,000
Savills, 01603 229229
www.savills.com
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