Wolterton Hall

The present hall and estate was once occupied by an early manor house, owned by Sir Henry Spelman, and the village of Wolterton which was abandoned leaving only the remains of the parish church tower which stands a short distance north of the present hall. Evidence shown on a map produced in 1733 shows that the deserted settlement of Wolterton lay a little north of the church and consisted of several houses clustered around a village green. The village of Wolterton is mentioned in the Domesday Book where it is listed under the names Ultertuna and Wivetuna. The survey shows main landholder of Wolterton was the Norman nobleman William de Warenne. The listing shows 4 smallholders on the land…

Responsibility for the design and construction of the new hall was given to Thomas Ripley. He had previously been engaged by Horatio's brother Robert to re-develop the Great House at Houghton. The ground floor was faced with Portland stone, with the upper storeys faced in pale red brick which were produced locally. Sash windows were installed surrounded by eared and shouldered stone architraves. The window heads were of plain stone pediments with cornice. The main entrance was on the north elevation of the house was flanked either side with Tuscan columns and headed with a plain stone cornice and pediment and was accessed by means of an exterior staircase (removed in the 19th century). This…

The interior designs for the hall included a marble hall which was formally the entrance hall before Repton's alterations to the entrance in 1828. The room has four mahogany doors which were a gift of Queen Caroline, the wife of George II. The room also contains a fireplace with an overmantel of white marble and coloured agate by Richard Fisher of Ripon. The room has a classical motif stucco ceiling. The house has a central domed full height stairwell with a stone cantilevered staircase with a lyre-shaped wrought iron balustrade topped with a banded mahogany handrail. Horace Walpole's study was decorated and designed by Italian painter Jacopo Amigoni in the late-Baroque/Rococo style. Other…