Melford Hall
Melford Hall is a stately home in Long Melford.
The property is currently owned by the National Trust.
The home, gardens and grounds are open to the public.
There is parking, a tea room, toilets and a book shop on site.
Check the National Trust Website for opening times and tickets.
Melford Hall - Home
Melford Hall is a 16th century stately home, surrounded by a moat. The Hyde-Parker family have lived at the hall for over 300 years.
Alongside the home is an octagonal Banqueting House.
The home has a dedicated display to Beatrix Potter.
Beatrix was the cousin of Sir William Hyde Parkers wife Ethel.
She was a frequent visitor to the hall and it was said she read her stories to their children.
Melford Hall - Gardens
Melford Hall has acres of parkland, woodland and walled gardens.
There is a moat and fish ponds on the grounds.
Melford Hall - Tearoom & Bookshop
The tearoom has both indoor and outdoor seating.
They serve hot and cold drinks, cakes, ice creams, light lunches and cream teas.
The bookshop sells second hand books.
Melford Hall - History
The property changed hands during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, passing from the abbots and later being granted by Queen Mary I to Sir William Cordell.
It then passed through his sister to Thomas and Mary Savage, before eventually being sold back into another branch of the Cordell family.
In 1619, James Howell described the hall and its gardens in a letter written during the time of Elizabeth Savage, Countess Rivers.
The house suffered damage in 1642 when it was attacked by an anti-Catholic mob during the Stour Valley Riots.
In 1786, it was purchased by Sir Harry Parker, 6th Baronet, the son of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet.
A fire in February 1942 destroyed one wing of the hall but this was rebuilt after World War II.
They preserved the original Tudor brick exterior while incorporating 1950s interior design.
The hall was first opened to the public in 1955 by Lady Hyde Parker.
In 1958, Sue Ryder leased the south wing to run a holiday program for Polish concentration camp survivors.
This initiative, which continued at Melford Hall for 11 years, laid the foundation for the Sue Ryder charity.