Helmingham Hall

Helmingham Hall stands in Suffolk as a moated manor house built in late medieval style. The house began in 1480 and has belonged to the Tollemache family ever since. Its brick-clad walls hide the original half-timbered structure beneath. A 60-foot moat surrounds the house and is crossed by two working drawbridges. These bridges have been raised every night since 1510, first by windlass and now by electric motor. The gardens are Grade I listed and open to visitors from May to September. They include herbaceous borders, a rose garden, a knot garden, a parterre, a walled garden, an allée and an orchard. Beyond the gardens lies a 400-acre deer park with red and fallow deer. Lady Alexandra Tollemache, known as Xa Tollemache, designs and supervises the gardens. She has also worked on gardens at Castle Hill in Devon and Dunbeath Castle in Scotland. The estate contains several Grade II listed structures, including garden walls, urns, statues and a sundial. The Church of St Mary on the edge of the park holds family memorials, including a tomb describing four generations of Tollemaches. The Tollemaches own one of only two surviving English Orpharion viols, dated 1580 and made by John Rose. Household papers from the time of Catherine Tollemache survive, along with her collection of recipes. The hall has appeared in BBC programmes and films such as Antiques Roadshow and The Golden Bowl.