Thursday, May 18, 2006

Why am I telling you about this fabulous property??

"Built in the 1740s for Sir William Harbord, Gunton Hall is an 18th century palace, the kind that the seriously rich built themselves near the Norfolk coast, in the middle of a large deer park, with a fishing lake and coverts for pheasant shooting.
The Harbord family had owned the estate since the 1670s, and there was an earlier house of which no trace remains.

The house & estate thrived in the 19th century, until one night in 1882 when the hall was completely gutted by fire. It then lay derelict for a century, before the shell was filled in with apartments. It is done really well - you would never know about the fire." (This is from the Norfolk churches site).
I'm telling you about this place because I went there yesterday to measure up for a whole lot of work, for the lovely owners. The octagonal bedroom is 4 times as big as our loungeroom, it has a ceiling painted with clouds in the sky, it must be 20 feet high. It used to be double this and be the ceiling of the huge kitchens. I am to make curtains & window seats & a hanging for the corona over the bed & a bedspread & everything. Hooray at last work has taken off.
Check out one of the owner's studio, overlooking
the 30 acre lake and the archway entrance.

1 comment:

kelly said...

How exciting! We'd love to see pictures!