A brief History of Ketteringham HallPrevious holders of "Catch of the Month"
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Situated just south of Norwich with easy access from the A11 and Norwich Southern Bypass, Ketteringham Hall, standing in an estate of 40 acres of woodland and open grassland, has had a long history. The estate itself was known to be in existence during the time of Edward the Confessor (1004-1066) and was mentioned in the Domesday Book when it was in the possession of two Saxon lords: Ulf and Ketel. It is from Ketel that the name of Ketteringham is derived. The hall itself originated in the late 15th century when it was built by Sir Henry Grey. It was inherited by Thomas Heveningham whose family occupied it for nearly 200 years. After a short tenure by the Heron family it was bought by Edward Atkyns whose wife, Charlotte, mortgaged the hall to raise funds for an attempted rescue of Marie Antionette from the revolutionaries in France. The attempt was a failure and Charlotte died penniless in France in 1836. After a fire in the early 1800s the hall was rebuilt to its present form and in 1836 it was sold to Sir John Peter Boileau whose family resided there until 1948. Their coat of arms with the motto, De Tout Mon Cour (with all my heart) can still be seen above the front entrance. Two years after being sold to the Duke of Westminster in 1948, the hall was used as a preparatory school until 1965 when Badingham College bought it after their own premises at Fetcham had been sold for development. A large black school bell from this period can still be seen high up on a wall. The college, however, failed to survive and had closed by 1968. It was then bought in 1970 by Colin Chapman and used as a base for his Lotus F1 racing team. (The hall is still owned by the Chapman family) From there the team Lotus fishing club was formed, run for employees of the team consisting of around 20 members and 5 associates. When the racing team ceased to operate from the hall, the club continued to fish the lake as guests of the hall owners. In 1997 Group Lotus obtained the lease on the hall and surrounding grounds and opened the membership of the club to anyone at Lotus so the name changed to Lotus Cars Fishing Club. When the lease expired on the Hall, the fishing club members approached the owners of the hall and negotiated a lease on the lake This is now renewed on an annual basis .The club is now open to anyone employed at Lotus, Classic Team Lotus or at Ketteringham Hall by invitation or on recommendation to a maximum of 80 members and is now known as Ketteringham Hall Angling Club with a committee of elected representatives numbering six . |
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Ketteringham Hall, south view of veranda & gardens |
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