Pleasaunce, The, Overstrand, Norfolk, England

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

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Up until the middle of the 19th century the coastal village of Overstrand had a population of less than 250 and the site of The Pleasaunce consisted mainly of sandy cliffs and open land. In 1888 Cyril Flower, first Lord Battersea and his wife, Constance, purchased 3 acres (1.25 hectares) of land with two small dwellings on it known as The Cottage from the local landowner Lord Suffield, to develop as a holiday home. Temporary additions and extensions were built to accommodate guests, but in 1897 Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) was commissioned to join the two villas together to make one large house which became known as The Pleasaunce. He added a clock tower to the east and a covered cloister to enclose a garden terrace on the west. The gardens were developed between 1898 and 1930 by the owners themselves, with some advice from Edwin Lutyens, and by 1911 covered some 50 acres (about 20 hectares) (Gardeners' Chronicle 1911). Lord Battersea died in 1907 but his widow continued to stay at The Pleasaunce until her own death in 1931. The property was then split up and sold as separate lots. The house, together with about 2.5 hectares of garden, was purchased in 1937 by Christian Endeavour Holiday Homes Ltd who run it as a holiday centre for Christians from all over the world. The remainder of the site was largely developed for housing. The site remains (1999) in corporate ownership.