Anmer Hall

Anmer Hall is a Georgian country house in the village of Anmer in Norfolk. Built in 1802, it has two storeys and an attic with dormer windows. The south front has 13 bays of red brick added around 1815, with a semicircular porch of two Tuscan columns. The north front uses carrstone and includes four 17th-century ogee-headed sash windows. A brick-faced skin and a tower were added near the turn of the 20th century. The house once held Grade II* listed status before being removed from the register. It became part of the Sandringham Estate after Queen Victoria’s purchase and has housed governors, diplomats and royal family members. Anmer Hall was leased to John Loader Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby, who served as Governor-General of Sudan. The Duke and Duchess of Kent lived there from 1972 to 1990. Hugh van Cutsem, a close friend of King Charles III, rented it next and hosted young Princes William and Harry. Elizabeth II gave Anmer Hall to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a wedding gift in 2011. Inside, the rooms mix contemporary design with antique furnishings and gilt picture frames. Cream walls and a bold jewel-green dining room create a warm atmosphere. Outside, an outdoor swimming pool and tennis court sit beside a conservatory added during a £1.5 million refurbishment. The estate includes earthworks from Anmer’s medieval village and lies two miles east of Sandringham House. The family’s bees produce honey on the grounds, and the children are often seen playing near the church of St Mary.