This is the site of Weeting Hall, which was built before 1770 and demolished in 1954. Today the site is partially built over, but a red brick stable block with a tall cupola, apparently built around 1900, remains. Construction work on the site noted the footings of the orangery, and some surprisingly large sewer tunnels. Some of the park features, including walls and ha has, survive in the nearby area, although the majority of the park has been built over.
Site of Weeting Hall. Build late 18th century, demolished before 1962.
Built before 1770 and demolished 1954 according to church guide.
See file for NHER 5639 for details.
5 December 1979. Site part built over, part empty. Good red brick stable block with tall cupola, apparently built around 1900, remains. (Lodges, ha-ha, brick walls along roads etc remain for a considerable area, though inner park has been built over).
Armstrong's Diary for 17 June 1872 refers to fact that Marengo, Napoleon's horse, died here at some previous date.
E. Rose (NLA), 12 September 1997.
Large brick and flint tunnels found on site of orangery, hall and near stables during building of houses.
See copies of photographs in file taken by developers, Goymoor Properties, The Grove, Banham, supplied by (Mr G Moore) Weeting History Group who has also provided a copy of the 1883 Ordnance Survey map superimposed onto a modern map. The tunnels appear to be the type of sewers one would expect to find in a 19th century town.
They presumably served the hall complex, but why are they so large?
E. Rose (NLA), 26 April 2001.
In 1926 the house was sold to the Ministry of Labour for use as a residential work camp to train men for settlement in the various polities in the British Empire and Commonwealth, usually Canada or Australia. The hall had the capacity for 200 men and up to 50 administrative staff. By 1929 high levels of unemployment in the British Empire and Commonwealth led to a decline in the demand for trainees and the centre was reused as an Instructional Centre undertaking similar work. The centre was closed during World War Two when the hall became a hospital for wounded Indian and Ghurkha soldiers and a holding camp for the Rifle Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division in the lead up to the Normandy landings. In the post war period the house and grounds were used to accommodate people who were displaced by the war. The house was demolished in 1954.
--- Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2008. Echoes of a Lost Heritage.. 29 November.
<S1> Website: Beckett, M.. 2011. Lost Heritage: a memorial to the lost country houses of England, Weeting Hall.
<S2> Article in monograph: Field, J.. 2009. Able Bodies: Work camps and the training of the unemployed in Britain before 1939.. The Significance of the Historical Perspective in Adult Education Research.