Some have gone forever and some are reduced to ruins.
But the ghosts of Norfolk's lost country halls and estates will not be forgotten thanks to a new heritage project.
The county once boasted dozens of such houses and halls - home to some of the richest people in Norfolk - but many have disappeared or exist only in a few scattered remnants.
However, Norfolk County Council's new Norfolk Record Office project, funded with £250,000 of National Lottery Heritage Fund money, aims to keep their memories alive.
Hall Marks: The Long Shadows of Norfolk’s Lost Country Houses, will uncover, keep, and share the stories of these vanished country houses and their estates, and their impact on the landscape of the county.
As part of the project, the online Norfolk Historic Map Explorer will be redeveloped with more resources, including thousands of handwritten tithe records, added.
Visitors to the website will be able to explore lost country houses, forgotten estates and vanished landscapes, comparing historical maps and photographs with a modern map.
Some of Norfolk's lost halls
One such hall, possibly the largest in the county, is Didlington Hall, north of Thetford Forest, which has a connection with the discovery of Egyptian king Tutankhamun's tomb.
Built in the 17th century the whole building was revamped and enlarged between 1879 and 1886 when William Amherst Tyssen-Amherst inherited the estate.
During those renovations, Tyssen-Amhert built a single-storey museum for his Egyptian collection.
A young boy who lived in Swaffham - Howard Carter - would visit as a boy when his father worked there, igniting his lifelong fascination with Egyptology.
Carter famously went on to discover the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.
The now-demolished Stoke Hall, once stood imposingly in acres of land off Norwich Road, near Stoke Holy Cross.
The hall was built by respected architect Anthony Salvin in the 1850s for banker Henry Birkbeck and boasted 28 bedrooms and acres of beautiful gardens.
Prime minister William Gladstone reportedly stayed at the hall, but in the 1930s, amid financial difficulties, much of the estate was sold.
In 1938, the hall was pulled down, with the fixtures and fittings sold off, although the entrance lodge survives to the present day, on the main road through Stoke Holy Cross.
Costessey Hall is one of Norfolk’s great Gothic losses.
With a silhouette like a fairytale castle, turrets and towering chimneys, it was destroyed not by bombs, but by British soldiers training during the First World War.
Those military activities left it uninhabitable and too expensive to repair, so today just one ivy-clad ruin remains - on the 18th fairway of Costessey Park Golf Course.
Heigham Hall once stood on the corner of Heigham Street and Old Palace Road, in Norwich.
In the early 19th century it was bought by Norwich butcher John Lowden, who rebuilt it – locally it was known as ‘Marrowbone House’.
After his death it became a 'Private Lunatic Asylum' for the treatment of patients with mental health issues, but ended up being demolished to be replaced by the Dolphin Grove housing estate.
Honingham Hall, built in 1607, had a colourful history and was owned by a succession of Norfolk names, among them Sir Eric Teichman, a well-known diplomat who retired there in 1935.
During the Second World War, Teichman turned part of the hall into a Barnardo’s Home to care for evacuated boys.
But In December 1944, Sir Eric was killed when he was shot in the head by an American soldier stationed at a nearby airbase, who had been poaching on the estate with a fellow soldier.
Twenty years later, the hall was sold and it was demolished in 1967.
'Extraordinary public interest'
Gary Tuson, county archivist at Norfolk Records Office, said: “There is extraordinary public interest in Norfolk’s lost halls and estates, so we are thrilled to have received this support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
"Thanks to National Lottery players, Hall Marks will not only protect fragile archival material but also open up access for everyone - from local historians and environmental researchers to families wanting to understand the history of where they live."
From January 2027 there will be a three-month exhibition at the Norfolk Record Office, exploring the stories of lost country houses and their influence on Norfolk’s communities and environment.
Fabian Eagle, Norfolk County Council's cabinet member for economic growth, said: “It is our hope that this project will further people’s interest in local history and encourage the use of the archive at the records office as well as allow us to record people’s memories of these lost architectural features of Norfolk. "
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