NHER 7723 (Monument record) - Site of Weston House

14 June 1978. Field Observation.
Constructed in 1756, this house was built in Adam style (photograph in S11) but was demolished in 1926 after the interiors were sold off. The rrubble was used to build the new Lenwade Bridge. A visit to the site confirmed that the stables remain and have been converted into a house which has a tall pediment on the northeast. The site of the house is grassed over.
E. Rose (NAU).

1985. Documentary Evidence.
The drawing in the secondary file from (S1) is reproduced from reprint of Parson Woodeforde's Diary (called Weston Hall but in fact is Weston House, now demolished). It depicts a three storey house (top windows smaller) of five bays, with a projecting central bay and a semicircular columned porch. Above is a pilastered and pedimented window while below there is a large eaves pediment. The side wall also five bays and the house has a hipped roof. Outbuildings are visible behind the house.
E. Rose 2 August 1985.

Interpretation: Documentary Evidence.
S12 states that construction date of 1756 for the house must be an error, though it appears in various books. Although the estate was inherited in 1757, Parson Woodforde's diary for 1781 notes that the house was unfinished in that year and was only occupied that August. The Park (NHER 33733) was newly laid out but appears to contain some ancient woodland lumps.
E. Rose (NLA), 13 March 1998.

Interpretation: Documentary Evidence.
Reference (S2) includes a photograph of the House (as above) and confirms the date of 1781. The architect was Thomas Rawlins, maker of memorial tablets in Norwich, and Weston House was his only country house contract.
E. Rose (NLA), 30 January 2001.

13 July 1993. NLA air photography (S5).
Parchmarks of the demolished hall can be seen showing through the grassed parking area.
S. Massey (NLA), 8 February 2001.

6 July 1994. NLA air photography (S6).
The house (converted stable) is visible in aerial photos, including near vertical images.
Parchmarks visible to the immediate northeast probably mark the site of the 18th century house.
A parch mark of a linear feature to the immediate north appears to be a track or road, although its proximity to the house and its angle suggest the two may not be contemporary.
M. Brennand (NLA), 23 February 2001.

Architectural plans for the converted stables (S4, 1997) and a photo of this building (S3) have been included in the secondary file.

November 2007. Norfolk NMP.
The parchmarks of the former hall are visible on aerial photographs of the grassland surrounding the remains of the hall stable complex (S5-S9). The site is centred on TG 1094 1712. The overall layout of the hall is consistent with the representations of the site on historic maps, such as the OS first edition (1887-1891) (S10), although the aerial photographs reveal greater structural details of the interior.

The parchmarks of the road to the north of the hall complex, referred to above as possibly predating the hall, is marked on the OS first edition map as a path through park plantations (S10). It is stated that a number of roads were closed as a consequence of the creation of the Weston Park in the eighteenth century, see NHER 33733. Therefore it is possible that the line of the route, which does appear to be of a different date to the hall due to the angle at which it approaches the building, may represent a remnant of an earlier road.
S. Massey (NMP), 12 November 2007.