Berden Hall

A manor house existed in Berden in medieval times when the Rochford family were lords of the manor here and probably founded the nearby priory. In 1583 it passed to Sir Thomas Ramsey who gave the estate and priory to the mayor of London and governors of several hospitals. The house is very similar to Toseland Hall in Huntingdonshire, built about 20 years later, with an identical outline, but different details. Further additions were made in the 17th century when it was owned by the Meade family, and the rainwater heads bear the date 1655. In the 1780s Thomas Hawkes owned Berden Hall, and in 1801 it still belonged to the Hawkes family. Berden Hall became a Grade II* listed building on 26…

Clive Aslet of The Daily Telegraph describes the "thick lime mortar joints that give a sparkle to Berden Hall’s facades", and the red bricks used on the house which are longer and thinner than those later used during the Georgian period. The house has three straight gables to each side and mullion-and-transom-cross windows, dated to the 17th century. There is a triple arch at the central doorway to the house, and inside is a winding 6 ft wide Tudor staircase. The gardens contain a lake, footbridge and paddock in about 17 acres. There is a granary to the east of the house, about 120 yd south of the village church.