Holkham Hall, Wells-next-the-Sea, England

Holkham Hall is a Palladian-style mansion surrounded by an 18th- to 19th-century park, woodland and agricultural estate of 1210 acres, considered to be one of the principal landscape parks in England. The estate now comprises 25 tenanted farms which make up 6100 hectares, and an extensive deer park which contains nearly 1000 fallow deer. The grounds and parkland that immediately surround the hall, built between 1734 and 1764, cover 3000 hectares and feature numerous walks. The parkland contains monuments and landmarks, including an obelisk, a lake and a stretch of coastline.

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

NOTE: This entry is a summary. Because of the complexity of this site, the standard Register entry format would convey neither an adequate description nor a satisfactory account of the development of the landscape. The user is advised to consult the references given below for more detailed accounts. Many Listed Buildings exist within the site, not all of which have been here referred to. Descriptions of these are to be found in the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest produced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

SHORT DESCRIPTION

One of the principal landscape parks in England, laid out by Thomas Coke (later the Earl of Leicester), Lord Burlington, and William Kent, with Matthew Brettingham in the early to mid-18th century and greatly extended in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Lancelot Brown, William Emes, and Humphry Repton, who produced a Red Book in 1789, are all associated with the site. The mid-19th-century garden terraces are by William Burn, William Andrews Nesfield and Thomas Sandys.

REFERENCES Used by English Heritage

Note: There is a wealth of material about this site. The key references are cited below.

Country Life, 3 (1 January 1898), pp 752-4; 143 (16 May 1968), pp 1310-14; 167 (24 January 1980), pp 214-17; (31 January 1980), pp 298-301

J Lees-Milne, Earls of Creation (1962), pp 244-7

D Stroud, Humphry Repton (1962), pp 36-8

N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: North-west and South Norfolk (1962), pp 199-204

Apollo 150, (August 1974), pp 133-6

D Stroud, Capability Brown (1975), p 229

Garden History 6, no 2 (Summer 1978), pp 22-5

G Carter et al, Humphry Repton (1982), p 159

S Wade-Martins, Holkham Park: its development over three centuries (1983)

Journal of Garden History 11, (1991), nos 1 and 2, pp 56-8

T Williamson, The archaeology of the landscape park, BAR Brit Series 268 (1998), pp 59-72, 100-05, 197-9, 212, 245-7

Maps

T Clerke, Description of the lordshipe or mannor of Holkham ..., 1590 (private collection)

Undated proposal map of Holkham park, around 1745 (private collection)

Undated map of Holkham park, around 1760 (private collection)

C Biedermann, A survey of lands at Holkham, 1781 (private collection)

W Faden, A new topographical map of the county of Norfolk, 1797 (Norfolk Record Office)

A Bryant, Map of the county of Norfolk, 1826 (Norfolk Record Office)

OS Surveyor's draft drawings, around 1815 (British Library Maps)

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1886

Archival items

The majority of the original documents and maps relating to Holkham are held in a private collection.
 

Description written: March 1999

Amended: February 2000

Edited: March 2001