See inside this £1.1m eight-bedroom mansion with link to Britain’s first prime minister
Syderstone's Manor, for sale for £1.1m. Pic: Sowerbys
A country manor house in north Norfolk with a link to the Walpole family has gone up for sale.
The Manor House, Syderstone, dates partially back to the late 17th century and was originally owned by the Robsart family, who had links to Queen Elizabeth I. In the 16th century Syderstone Hall, which no longer exists, was the home of Sir John Robsart, Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and his daughter, Amy, whose initials are still on its churchyard gate and over the entrance to the Norman church tower.
In 1549, Amy Robsart married Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and her mysterious death in 1560, when she died after appearing to fall down some stairs, led to suspicion that she had been murdered so that Robert might marry Elizabeth I - a suspicion which became the subject of Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth.
Syderstone manor then came into the possession of the Walpole family. Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister, had acquired land at Syderstone and this estate and its manor house passed to Edward Walpole, his son.
The house, boasting eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms, stayed in the Walpole family until it was used by the RAF during the Second World War when men were stationed at RAF bases at Bircham and Sculthorpe.
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The house was then in the same family until the current owners bought it in 2014. They completely restored it and in doing so, won a design award from the conservation team at King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council.
But it also has an unusual, impressive feature in its 40ft wide kitchen, which leads to a dining and family room as well as a snug, utility and boot room. Upstairs are two master bedroom suites and four other double bedrooms. On the second floor are two more double bedroom suites and an attic room with 5,100sqft of accommodation in total.
Outside is an enclosed patio garden as well as a small barn that is currently used as a games room.
Agents Sowerbys, selling the property, said: "Situated in the heart of this pretty and discreet north Norfolk village The Manor House is, as its name would suggest, a grand yet incredibly practical Grade II listed home that has been finished to a tasteful and impeccably high standard throughout."