NHER 4654 (Building record) - Thorpe Old Hall, Yarmouth Road

February 1952. Listed, Grade II*.
Listing Description excerpt:
"Derelict town house of the Paston family, mainly circa 1600, on the site of the palace of the Bishops of Norwich. Built of rendered and colourwashed brick and flint with plain tile roofs. 'L'-shaped plan of two and a half storeys, with lower two-storey wing to north west, single storey porches to north and east, and 19th-century lean-to, two-storey staircase extension to west...Gabled 19th-century porch has c.1600 core...Flint plinth and moulded brick plat band at first-floor level. North façade has gable with wide external stack to east and central porch...Brick dentil eaves to west, moulded timber eaves to east. Parapet eaves with moulded brick kneelers to north and south. End stacks terminate at ridge level. Central axial stack and external stack with roll moulded set back, on south wing. Lower two-storey western range remains, mainly to eaves, though a section of 19th-century roof remains at the west ends...Much of the circa 1600 construction remains inside. Chamfered bridging beams, common joists and double tenoned joist. Close studded wattle and daub partitions. 16th-century solid tread newel stair and its associated timber frame structure, from ground to first floor, and a winding newel stair to attic. Double butt purlin roof with wind braces. Stone fire place from dining room in store for reinstallation. Cambered arch with incised decoration. Attic fire place in north gable wall with plastered 4 centered, chamfered and stopped arch. Remains of 19th-century painted thelis pattern on plaster in stair case area."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
P. Watkins (HES), 23 May 2022.

July 1975. Field Observation.
Visited by E. Rose (NAU).
Present house built by Sir Edward Paston who died 1630. Renaissance style: one room said by (S2) to preserve panelled walls and fireplace. Stands on one corner of 14th century courtyard house; chapel remained to recent years to south, then descheduled and demolished. Belonged to bishop of Norwich. Fragment 15th century window tracery set over gate in wall facing Yarmouth Road. Building has sunk in places now empty and fenced off, and deteriorating.
Compiled by E. Rose (NAU), 19 July 1975. Information from record card (S3).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 23 May 2022.

Chapel was Decorated in style, c.1380, and was demolished in 1930s when other side of house courtyard was pulled down. In 1954 the wooden door in the wall under the window tracery was said to bear the date 1583. Mackerell (S4) refers to 12th-century garden walls and extensive foundations of Bishops House. Ordnance Survey found fishponds in 1954.
Details from (S5).
Compiled by E. Rose (NAU). Information from record card (S3).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 23 May 2022.

1975. Building Survey.
Report on survey by Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) in NARG files: claims panelling is late 19th century imitation of Jacobean, but some original work reused in stairs. Much 18th and 19th alterations: one door formerly dated 1608.
Compiled by E. Rose (NAU). Information from record card (S3).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 23 May 2022.

Addition to RCHME survey carried out in 1975:
In (S6) a plate is given of the hall's east front. This shows the remaining east façade has not changed since that date. So the "modern door cut through a window in the 19th century" and the "porch, substantially Victorian but perhaps representing an earlier feature" were both in existence before 1818. The RCHME report is correct in assuming that service wings have been demolished beyond the present south wall of this wing, but that the gable and quoins are original, for the plate shows a lower, narrower wing adjoining
on the same alignment, two stories, of four bays; the bay nearest the house has simply a small light but the other three have mullioned and transomed windows. This wing connected to the chapel, of which an Early English window is just visible.
Compiled by E. Rose (NAU). Information from file notes (S7).
P. Watkins (HES), 23 May 2022.

1986.
Although it was initially proposed that the hall should be demolished (S8) it was saved and a programme of restoration undertaken.
For full details of discoveries, redating, features found, and negative observations of house plots to west, see file notes (S7).
E. Rose (NAU), 7 February 1986.

Also plots beside site of chapel.
E. Rose (NLA), 9 Feb 2000.

Full details and press cuttings (S9) in file.
Architects drawings (pre 1992) (S10) as large rolled plans.
E. Rose (NLA).

February 2000. Trial Trench.
A single trench revealed modern gravel surfacing and topsoil over an extensive layer of gravel and chalk make-up. Beneath this layer were a succession of alluvial and colluvial deposits, which probably former up until the late 18th century and later when the make-up layer was laid down.
See report for further details (S11). The results of this work are also summarised in (S12).
S. Howard (HES), 28 October 2011.

16 July 2012. Watching Brief.
Restoration work to expose a well located within the staircase hall was monitored.
The well shaft was lined with a honeycombe pattern of bricks likely dating to the late 19th century and capped with a modern brick dome, but the original siting of the well may be early post-medieval.
Make-up layers for a floor surface contemorary with a brick and mortar wall tentatively dated to the late 15th to 16th century were exposed during the groundworks. An ashy layer above this floor may relate to a fire which damaged the east-west wing in the 18th century and a levelling layer of chalk waste is likely associated with 19th century rebuilding.
See report (S13) for further details.
M. Langham-Lopez (HES), 28 January 2013.