This time I was prompted to have a look at a place called Oxburgh Hall. I had a look, liked it and said that we need to see it!


Here’s some historical information that I found about Oxburgh Hall on the internet:
"Built around 1482 by Sir Edmund Bedingfeld, Oxburgh has always been a family home, not a fortress. The manor of Oxburgh came to the Bedingfeld family by marriage before 1446, and the house has been continuously inhabited by them since their construction of it in 1482, the date of Edward Bedingfeld's licence to crenellate.

The hall is well known for its priest hole. Due to the Catholic faith of the Bedingfeld family, a Catholic priest may have had to hide within the small disguised room in the event of a raid. The room is reached via a trapdoor, which when closed blends in with the tiled floor. Unlike many similar priest holes, the one at Oxburgh is open to visitors."
I must admit the priest hole was an interesting room, but I really wouldn’t recommend it for someone who suffers from claustrophobia. (And NO, I didn’t go there – it seemed to me that I would get stuck!) But as I wasn’t allowed to take photos inside the house, sadly I can’t really show you what it looks like… Instead here are some more photos of the façade.



It could be translated to something like that: „at night we have enough courage to climb the roofs, listen to the language of the darkness, to climb the roofs and look down, don‘t be afraid to hug the things that are precious to you“.

Pretty gravel walkways that take you round the country house and down to the small Catholic church... Which I think it isn‘t that common in England?
The church itself is rather small, yet quite cosy and not as ornate as it usually is popular in the Catholic tradition. But the thing that stuck in my memory the most was in the church yard - a little grave of a stillborn girl, who was born in 2003 and a very meaningful sentence on the grave stone – „home without a journey”. I found it very comforting – we keep saying “life’s journey”, but to my mind we never see the end of this journey as a return home…

Have I mentioned the gardens? They are really nice – you could find there lots of vegetables and flowers. And if you haven’t got a garden and would like to show your children how tomatoes, cucumbers or pumpkins grow, come to Oxburgh Hall in Autumn!


Have I mentioned the gardens? They are really nice – you could find there lots of vegetables and flowers. And if you haven’t got a garden and would like to show your children how tomatoes, cucumbers or pumpkins grow, come to Oxburgh Hall in Autumn!
2 comments:
Can you imagine actually living in a house like that?
Thanks for the virtual tour.
Jayne
What a delightful entry, Kristina! I enjoyed seeing the architecture from several different views. The gardens are so lovely with all that brick as a backdrop.
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