House & Family History: In the 18th century Ketteringham was the home of Charlotte Atkyns, who became famous as a British spy during the French Revolution. Before her 1779 marriage to Edward Atkyns, Charlotte performed on the London stage as Charlotte Walpole (see "Images" section), which probably helped prepare her for work as a spy. She and her husband moved to France about five years before the outbreak of the French Revolution, which placed Charlotte in a valuable position to help the royalists. She was noted for her repeated (unsuccessful) attempts to free the French royal family from prison. Her most famous incident took place in 1793, when, dressed as a member of the French National Guard, she attempted to free Marie Antoinette. In the 19th century Thomas Jeckyll of Ketteringham maintained a disturbed relationship with the puritan vicar of Ketteringham, which is detailed in Owen Chadwick's book "Victorian Miniature."

Collections: Please see the PDF in the "Related Resources" section for the mid-1950s notes and lists of Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III, the late scholar of ancient art and classical curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on the collection of ancient art at Ketteringham.

House Listed: Grade II

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: Grey family, 16th century. Heveningham family, 18th century. Edward Atkyns, until 1794. Sir John Boileau, 19th century; Boileau family here from 1836 until 1948.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Offices

Ownership Details: Owned by the family of Colin Chapman and divided into business units.

House Open to Public: No

Historic Houses Member: No

PDF of Cornelius Vermeule’s notes on the classical marbles collection at Ketteringham Hall