| Spixworth Hall | |
|---|---|
 View of Spixworth Hall (demolished in 1952) | |
  Location within Norfolk | |
| General information | |
| Type | Country house |
| Architectural style | Elizabethan |
| Town or city | Spixworth, Norfolk, England |
| Coordinates | 52°40′47″N1°18′26″E / 52.6796°N 1.3073°E |
| Completed | 1607 |
| Demolished | 1952 |
Spixworth Hall was an Elizabethan country house in the civil parish of Spixworth in Norfolk, located just north of the city of Norwich on the Buxton Road. It was demolished in 1952.
The house was located in Spixworth, close to the Buxton Road. It was 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Norwich and some 10 miles (16.1 km) south of North Walsham.
The house was constructed by William Peck in 1607. The park was 200 acres, which ran parallel to the present Buxton Road. The complete estate was in excess of 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) situated on the edge of Norwich, with land bordering the present Norwich International Airport. Both Longe Road and William Peck Road are named in honour of the former owners of Spixworth Hall. [1]
The Longe family, who were considerable land owners (owning Reymerston Hall, Norfolk, Hingham Hall, Norfolk, Dunston Hall, Norfolk, Abbot's Hall, Stowmarket, and Yelverton Hall, Norfolk), bought the estate from the Pecks in 1685. Spixworth Hall and the surrounding parkland remained in the Longe family for 257 years until 1952, when it was demolished. [1]
In 1920, the house was tenanted by Maud and Reginald Gurney of Gurney's Bank in Norwich, who had recently moved from Earlham Hall. Many buildings of the former estate still remain, including the gate house, dove cote, stable block and the ice house. [1] The Longe family were traditionally clergymen and lawyers.
The house's library consisted of one of the most extensive collections of first-edition books of any stately home in the UK, with works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Miquel de Cervantes. As was fashionable with large households, records show that the Longe family kept animals, including a large monkey who used to live in the stable block, and a bear who lived in the butler's cottage and the wine cellar. [1] The Lordship of the Manor is still held by the Longe family, as well as much of the surrounding parkland.
There are in existence, but now dispersed, a number of paintings of notable Bacons and Longes, perhaps the most famous being the Gainsborough portrait of the Longe family in Spixworth Park. This must have been painted before 1788, since that is the year in which Gainsborough of Sudbury died. The superb Temple cabinet which housed Sir William Temple's old medals and seals stood in the library. Another treasure was Dorothy Osborne's plain gold engagement ring engraved ‘the love I owe I cannot showe’. Sir William Temple of Moor Park was married to Dorothy Osborne, and they were close friends of the Longes. Until 1787, when it was unbricked, an alcove in the gallery contained the ‘soul’ of Sir William Peck. Documents do not state when this act occurred, but it is documented that Sir William desired this ‘bricking up’ to save his soul from adversaries. [1]
The Longe family are believed to have settled in Norfolk prior to 1299, with reference being made to both Robert le Longe and John le Longe who were traders of saltpetre in Norwich and the City of London. The family are notably descended from William of Wykeham, Chancellor of England and Bishop of Winchester, from which much of the family wealth can be attributed. Another branch of the family settled in Suffolk in the 1300s with Walterus le Longe and Rogerus le Longe both mentioned as bailiffs in Dunwich, Suffolk, in 1332 and 1333. The family is a senior branch of the House of Longe.
In 1619, the Longe family purchased estates of Reymerston Hall and later Spixworth Hall in 1685 and Dunston Hall in 1859. In 1903, the Suffolk branch purchased Abbot's Hall in Stowmarket, Suffolk which is now the Museum of East Anglian Life. A number of the family served as High Sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk. In 2011, the will of Thomas Longe of Ashwellthorpe was discovered, giving historians the first positive identification of a common soldier fighting for the House of York during the Battle of Bosworth. [2]
High Sheriffs of Norfolk:
High Sheriffs of Suffolk:
Descent of the senior Norfolk branch: The descent of the Norfolk branch of the Longe family of Hingham and latterly Spixworth Hall and Reymerston Hall is as follows:
Other notable members of the Longe family:
Sir Nicholas Bacon was Lord Keeper of the Great Seal during the first half of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. He was the father of the philosopher and statesman Sir Francis Bacon.
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Longe is an English and French aristocratic household, descending from the House of Bourbon-Préaux, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, and may refer to:
Hingham is a market town and civil parish in mid-Norfolk, England. The civil parish covers an area of 14.98 km2 (5.78 sq mi) and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households at the time of the 2001 census, increasing to 2,367 at the 2011 Census.
The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other important county meetings. Most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions are now largely ceremonial. There was a single high sheriff serving the two counties of Norfolk and Suffolk until 1576.
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Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet, of Redgrave, Suffolk, English Member of Parliament. In 1611 he became the first man to be made a baronet. Bacon would serve on many commissions. The Privy Council constantly called upon him to conduct inquiries. He was a puritan leader in Suffolk. The power and prestige of the puritan ministries in many areas of the country owed their power to Bacon. Sir Nicholas Bacon was considered a good Christian by his contemporaries. Especially his chaplain, Robert Allen. Robert Allen stated that Sir Bacon's wife was dedicated to "God's holy religion and worship by every good and Christian means in the sight of men."
Sir Robert Bacon, 3rd Baronet of Redgrave (1574–1655) was an English landowner.
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SirBassingbourne Gawdy, of West Harling, Norfolk, was an English lawyer and judge, knight, and Member of Parliament.
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