A Norfolk mansion with a link to a famous brewery is for sale in almost eight acres of woodland and parkland.
The current owner of Great Ormesby Hall, Ormesby St Margaret, describes it as so idyllic, it’s like ‘something out of a Beatrix Potter tale.’
But when the owner, who did not want to be named, bought the property, which dates to 1810, it was feared it might have to be knocked down.
But instead he decided to painstakingly restore the house, taking three and a half years to do so, and has lived there for almost a quarter of a century.
The house offers, as the owner describes, space and privacy, sitting in 1.6 acres of parkland with an adjoining six acres of mature woodland.
The property offers in total, seven bedrooms and is described by agents Bycroft Residential as a ‘once in a generation opportunity.’
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Positioned in the centre of Ormesby St Margaret, yet giving the feeling of being completely in the countryside, Great Ormesby Hall is approached by a private drive, past secure double gates topped with falcon statues – a clue as to its past owner – the founder of Lacons Brewery. The brewery dates to the 1760s and grew into a massive enterprise in Great Yarmouth, which, by the 1860s was dispatching more than 50,000 barrels of beer to London alone. It shut down in 1968 but was relaunched in 2013. A falcon is still the emblem of the brewery.
The main house boasts some castellated features and decorated chimney stacks but has been completely overhauled to offer a fabulous family home. In the east wing, over two floors, there are three bedrooms, including the principal, a dressing room and marble bathroom as well as a sitting room. In the west wing, a ballroom with a wooden floor and vaulted ceiling as well as cast iron candelabras and three sets of full height windows to the garden. There is also a dining room and kitchen and in the south wing, the breakfast room, utility and a galleried landing, off which are more bedrooms. Outside there are garages and two guest rooms which can be used as holiday lets as well as the extensive gardens and grounds.
One of the most memorable occasions for the owner was when he opened the south facing patio doors to be met with the amazing site of a 2m tall fully-grown red deer stag
drinking out of the fountain. “What makes it unique is that you feel it is isolated yet in fact you are only 200 yards from the village. You have a moving landscape picture through your windows, you would go a long way to find a more secluded spot.”
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