Helmingham, near Stowmarket
Suffolk
England
Circa Date: 1510, possibly incorporating earlier elements, w/16th, 17th, 18th & 19th century alterations and additions
Status: Fully Extant
House Open to Public: Grounds Only
Country House: Yes
The house from an 1844 lithotint by J.D. Harding
Earlier Houses: There was an earlier house named Creke Hall on the site of the current house.
Built / Designed For: Tollemache family
House & Family History: Helmingham is composed of four main periods: the 16th century, the mid-18th century, 1800, and 1841. The south facade was mostly designed by Nash, or his assistant, John Adey Repton. Nash designed the battlements, mullions, the oriel-topped gateway, and the bridge. In 1841 Anthony Salvin remodeled the west range and created the dining room and the south drawing room using 17th century components. The only access to Helmingham Hall is via two drawbridges (which span a 60-feet-wide moat that completely surrounds the house) that have been pulled up every night since 1510.
Collections: Helmingham contains one of the few known surviving English orpharion viols. Dated 1580 and made by the English viol maker John Rose, the instrument is believed to have been presented to the Tollemache family by Elizabeth I during one of her progresses through East Anglia.
Garden & Outbuildings: Helmingham is noted for its garden, which includes herbaceous borders, a knot garden (with plants that were grown in England before 1750), a parterre, a walled garden, a rose garden (which features a large collection of old fashioned roses), an allée, and a wildflower garden. The house is set within a 400-acre deer park.
Architect: John Nash
Date: 1800Architect: Anthony Salvin
Date: 1841Vitruvius Britannicus: C. IVth. pls. 63, 64, 1739.
John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. I, p. 33, 1852.
John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. IV, 1821.
Country Life: CXX, 282, 332 plan, 378, 656, 712, 1956.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - SOFTBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 1995
Reference: pg. 692
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300072074
Book Type: Softback
Title: Burke's & Savills Guide to Country Houses, Volume III: East Anglia
Author: Kenworthy-Browne, John; Reid, Peter; Sayer, Michael; Watkin, David
Year Published: 1981
Publisher: London: Burke's Peerage
ISBN: 0850110351
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Grade I
Park Listed: Grade I
Current Seat / Home of: Timothy John Edward Tollemache, 5th Baron Tollemache; Tollemache family here since the late 15th century.
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Lionel Tollemache, High Sheriff of Suffolk and Norfolk, 16th century; Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of Dysart, until 1821.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: Grounds Only
Phone: 01473-890-799
Fax: 01473-890-776
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.helmingham.com
Awards: 2023 Tatler Country House Award for Best Moat
Historic Houses Member: Yes