For almost 40 years now Dickleburgh Hall has been the family home of John and Beryl Taylor, but the beautiful country property has a history reaching back through the centuries.
Dating back to the 1500s, and mentioned in Nikolaus Pevsner's The Buildings of England as being of architectural and historical importance, it was once part of Dickleburgh Hall Manor.
But a property has stood on this site at least as far back as the 1200s, when it was owned by Roger Bygod, the Earl of Norfolk.
And it also holds a unique place in the history of the Suffolk Punch horse, John explains.
'A Mr Glebe decided in the 1700s that the Suffolk Punch was becoming impure and so he decided to focus on breeding only the very best at Dickleburgh Hall,' he says.
'All bloodstock of the Suffolk Punch can now be traced back to Dickleburgh Hall.'
While the exquisite Grade II listed house still retains an abundance of original character, it has, of course, evolved over the years.
Today it comes to the market with Strutt & Parker at a guide price of £1.375 million and includes 16 acres of magnificent grounds, some barn conversions and even an 18-hole hobby golf course.
One barn has been converted into a self-contained cottage, another is a marvellous entertaining space, and there is even planning permission for the creation of nine en suite bedrooms.
But when John and Beryl first arrived at the house they were simply looking for a family home: John had been posted to East Anglia for work and they were seeking a country house in a convenient position.
'This was ideal for us because Diss was so central,' Beryl recalls. 'We could be on a train to London within 10 minutes if we needed to and John was able to travel across the region very easily from here.'
They loved older houses and Dickleburgh Hall caught their eye for its period beauty. The current house was rebuilt in 1538 and offers accommodation which is arranged over three floors.
This includes five double bedrooms, with en suite bath or shower rooms, an attic bedroom and a minstrels' hall, a reception hall, drawing room, dining room, study, snooker room, kitchen breakfast room, rear kitchen and cloakroom.
'It is a lovely big house but even when it is just the two of us here it never seems too large – it has a welcoming feel and is a lovely place to live,' says Beryl.
The property has excellent ceiling heights throughout. There are picture rails, timber recesses and original wide floorboards.
A beautiful set of original oak stairs leads up to the gallery, which has a vaulted ceiling with beautiful beams, and the drawing and dining rooms have large open fireplaces, with brick hearths and surrounds.
The kitchen, which has an Aga and a pamment floor, leads through into a rear kitchen or utility room and a hidden study.
'We have carried out a lot of work here over the years,' says John. 'We opened up the attic, made the dairy into a full-size snooker room and converted Little Hen Cottage, which has a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room.'
The gardens around the house were set out and the barn complex was transformed into the entertaining area, with games rooms, lounges and even cloakrooms. And with the planning permission in place for further accommodation, this could hold all sorts of possibilities for new owners.
John has relished throwing himself into a range of development projects at Dickleburgh Hall and certainly one of the most fun was the creation of the golf course.
The holes have proper greens and fairways, which sweep through attractive trees, including some fine copper beeches, oak trees, horse and sweet chestnut.
'It is just for friends and family to play on really but Beryl offered accommodation at the hall for a while and our guests enjoyed playing there too,' he says.
'We have enjoyed having the space here to host events and golf days from time to time.'
There are beautiful views from many of the rooms in the house, out over the parkland grounds and the golf course.
Dickleburgh Hall is approached via a 300-yard tree-lined gravel driveway, which branches off to the house and barns.
More formal areas of garden surround the house and comprise of areas laid to lawn, with some rose and shrub borders along with a partly walled garden, with a raised terrace, bordered with floral hedging.
But Dickleburgh Hall could also be ideal for equestrian purposes as it includes a seven-acre paddock.
'This is such a quiet place to live and yet we have found it to be very convenient,' says John. 'It has been a wonderful family home for us, our children and our grandchildren, and it will be a sad day when we head off down that drive for the last time.'
Dickleburgh Hall, Dickleburgh, near Diss, is currently on the market with Strutt & Parker at a guide price of £1.375 million.
For more information call 01603 617431 or visit www.struttandparker.com
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