The House
Kentwell Hall is a secluded and romantic estate set in Suffolk parkland with over 500 years of fascinating history and unexpected stories.
Discover Kentwell Hall & Gardens
A stunning mellow redbrick house with two forward wings of the early 16th C, surrounded by a broad moat, built by the Clopton family with wealth realised from landowning. Its main features are its impressive, little-altered exterior elevations and its separate 15th C part half-timbered service building. The interior shows the changes made by successive owners most notably of about 1800, most pronounced of 1826 and by the Phillips family since 1972.
Much Loved Family Home
The Hall has been home to a succession of owners, with each having left their own mark. Let to a succession of tenants from 1888 to 1930, by 1970 it stood neglected and in need of much investment. It was bought by Patrick Phillips who, with his wife, Judith, embarked on a grand-scale restoration of the Hall and Gardens, while making it their family home. The owners give occasional fascinating and personal tours of the House.
Gardens
The Gardens at Kentwell reflect how many people may imagine an old-fashioned Country House Garden. The Gardens have evolved over five centuries with elements of all this attention still visible.
Dominated by the Hall, original brick walls and moats, and perhaps the largest stand of Cedar trees in England. In addition, there is an abundance of topiary, large and small.
Unexpected surprises can be found at every turn, for both adults and children, from the brick-paved Maze in the Courtyard to the huge, topiary Yew Castle.
Stroll around the Gardens in an ever-changing environment, never far from water or interesting views of the House. Alternatively, you can unwind and enjoy the ever-shifting patterns of the wind or the fish gliding through the water of the Moats.
Sometimes, events permitting, you can wander up to visit the Barns Sward with its timber-framed farm buildings and its old-fashioned farmyard feeling.
The Gardens are open to view regularly.
Enjoy our home as our guests
As you explore, you will see the exterior remains very much as the Tudor builders left it, but as you discover the interior, you will see it now presents an exciting mix of periods with rare and fabulous pieces from fine paintings to period furniture.
Kentwell Hall represents Patrick and Judith’s ongoing and ever-changing lifetime journey. It is the story of their family and home. Created from the restoration of an empty, near derelict and unloved shell to a treasured, unique and cherished home for visitors to explore, learn and enjoy.
Join us to learn more about the history of the house and the stories of the people who made this the beautiful and fascinating place it is.
