With a moat dating back to 1280 and a Sikh prince among its former inhabitants, you’d be forgiven for assuming Blo Norton Hall is a fictional creation. But despite its incredible backstory, the property – which served as a muse for writer Virginia Woolf in the early 1900s – is very real indeed. And now, in very enticing news for Woolf heads, it’s hit the market – for £2.6 million.
The Norfolk estate sits in the tiny medieval village of Blo Norton. After visiting the Elizabethan property aged 24, Woolf chose it as the setting for her short story ‘The Journal of Mistress Joan Martyn’.
So, why don’t we let the acclaimed writer do the talking? As the author writes, the house is ‘300 years old, striped with oak bars inside, old staircases, ancestral vats and portraits.
‘When you are set down at the Hall, no sound whatever reaches your ear; the very light seems to filter through deep layers; and the air circulates slowly, as though it had but to make the circuit of the Hall, and its duties were complete.’ Sounds idyllic, right?
One hundred years and several refurbishments later, the manor looks slightly different, though it has kept its sixteenth-century wooden panelling, flooring and stained-glass windows.
It has nine bedrooms (seven of which are ensuite), five reception rooms and 75 acres of land including a tennis court, a medieval moat and two cottages (available by separate negotiation).
Shortly after Woolf’s visit, the hall was rented by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, son of the last maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Godson to Queen Victoria and a staunch monarchist, Singh reportedly had a portrait of Oliver Cromwell hung upside down in one of the bathrooms. The prince remained there until his death in 1926.
Want to take a look around? You can find out more about the property on the Savills website.
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