Glorious Jacobean Mansion, near Aylsham, Norfolk. Associated with Anne Boleyn.
Blickling Hall might just be the most beautiful manor house in Norfolk. The current building dates from 1619, but an earlier moated house on the same site was reputed to be the birthplace of the tragic second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn - her ghost is still said to haunt Blickling on the anniversary of her death.
If you're planning to visit Blickling Hall in Norfolk, my advice is to allow plenty of time, there's so much to see here that you won't want to rush.
The house itself, built in 1619 by Sir Henry Hobart, is a perfect example of a Jacobean grand house. The architect who Sir Henry employed to create his mansion, Robert Lyminge, also built the magnificent Hatfield House in Hertfordshire for the Cecils.
Sir Henry instructed Robert Lyminge to retain certain elements of the original Elizabethan house when he designed the new Hall, so although Anne Boleyn had been dead for eighty years when the new Hall was built, it's not too difficult to imagine walking in her childhood footsteps.
Today, the interior of Blickling Hall is a seamless mix of early Jacobean through to refined Georgian. Look out for the Chinese style bedroom too.
Tours of the house will take you through each period of time, as you wander from the opulent state rooms to the stark servants areas. On some days, costumed characters bring the hall to life, recounting stories from their time at the hall.
Perhaps the most wonderful room you'll visit, is the Long Gallery. This is where inhabitants of the hall could take exercise when the weather was poor. The brilliance of the plasterwork ceiling has to be seen to be believed. The Long Gallery also contains Blickling's astonishing antique book collection.
The first room you enter is the Great Hall. If it's busy you might want to wait a few moments rather than miss out having a good look at the remarkable carved wooden staircase here. The Hobart family emblem is a bull, and many examples can be spotted as you go around. It's a good way to keep younger children occupied too, ask them to count how many they can find.
Outside the Hall, there's even more to see and do.
Formal and informal gardens surround the Hall. The East Parterre is extremely beautiful, with clipped yews and herbaceous borders. Seats are dotted around, take your time and soak up the atmosphere. Everywhere you turn, a new and beautiful vista opens up before you. Explore and you'll discover Temples and the Orangery. Imagine what it would have been like as a Georgian, entertaining your friends here.
For children - of all ages - there are croquet sets and giant chess men, to play with nearer the lake.
Further afield, the estate park contains a number of interesting features. If you've the time, take a walk - maps are available from the ticket office - and see the Mausoleum and the Ice House. There are decent cycle routes marked through the park. Take your own cycles, or hire them if you're visiting during the normal Norfolk school holiday period.
If like me, you're into buying second hand books, leave time to visit the book shop. It's one of the best in the area.
A few years ago, Blickling House was voted the National Trust's most haunted house. The most famous ghost said to haunt Blickling is Anne Boleyn. Although no one is really sure where she was born (it may have been Blickling or Hever), nevertheless, the date of her execution, May 19th, is said to be the date on ehich Anne returns to Blickling, arriving in gruesome carriage, driven by headless horses and with headless coachmen. She wanders the Hall until dawn, carrying her head under her arm!
The Hall is also said to be haunted by Anne's father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, who died at Blickling three years after his daughter's execution in 1539. He wasn't the type of father many of us would choose, so perhaps he's feeling guilty!
Two other owners of Blickling are also reputed to haunt here; Sir John Fastolfe - the old soldier on whom Shakespeare modelled Sir John Falstaff, and Sir Henry Hobart, the builder of the new Hall himself.
We've been to Blickling on a number of occasions, but never seen anything - it's still one of the most enchanting places, and definitely in my 'Top Ten' favourite historic houses.
