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About this place
Sir Henry Hobart began building Blickling Hall in 1616 on the ruins of an earlier Tudor house, on a site near Aylsham in Norfolk.
The result is one of England's finest Jacobean houses, set within 5,000 acres of parkland where the River Bure loops round the estate.
Its library holds one of the most important private collections in the country, with an estimated 13,000 to 14,000 volumes.
The National Trust has cared for the property since 1940.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
The house was designed by the architect Robert Lyminge for Sir Henry Hobart, replacing an earlier Tudor building on the same site. The library's core collection was assembled by Sir Richard Ellys in the eighteenth century, adding to the house's status as a repository of rare manuscripts and books. Before the Hobart era, the estate belonged to the Boleyn family between 1499 and 1505.
Architecture
Blickling Hall is considered one of the finest Jacobean houses in England, built from 1616 to designs by Robert Lyminge, with the earlier Tudor building's foundations absorbed into the new structure.
Worth knowing
The estate was held by the Boleyn family in the years around 1500, a link that has fuelled long-standing claims about Anne Boleyn's early life, though the present house postdates her by nearly a century.
Gardens & grounds
The house sits within 5,000 acres of parkland shaped by a loop of the River Bure, giving the grounds a scale unusual even among National Trust properties.
Facilities
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Aylsham (Bure Valley Railway) (1.7 miles)
Blickling Hall's house and gardens are typically open for much of the year, with some seasonal closures; check the official National Trust website for current dates.
Nearby properties