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Wolterton
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| Wolterton lies 4 miles north-west of Aylsham and is
famous for its 18th-century hall. |
St Margaret's Church Tower
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The estate was purchased in 1725 by the first Baron
Walpole. The original hall burnt down and was rebuilt by Horatio
Walpole (the second Baron). Walpole employed the
Yorkshire-born architect Thomas Ripley and work began on the
red-brick house in 1727. The interior featured state rooms
containing Gobelins tapestries and the parkland was
landscaped including a lake and an avenue of oak and
beech trees.
However, the remaining inhabitants of
the village of Wolterton - who were based in an area just to
the north of St Margaret's church - were removed as part of
the redesign. Their settlement was located around a rectangular green
and today there is still a visible hollow way. Field walkers
and metal detectorists have discovered medieval and
post-medieval pottery, coins and metalwork on the site. (A
full record of the finds can be found on the
Norfolk Heritage Explorer site.) It is also likely that
Horatio Walpole removed much of the stone work from the
church - leaving only the tower standing.
The village
of Wolterton
was always a small community. It was recorded in the Domesday Book
but Lay Subsidy records for 1332 and 1334 indicate that it
was well below average in size. Later on, the parish was incorporated with Wickmere.
Since the demise of St Margaret's church, the Walpole family
members were interred in a vault at St Andrew's Chrrch,
Wickmere.
Whites Directory of 1845 records that Wolterton only had 43
inhabitants.
Today there is access to the church
tower and to the grounds of the hall - for the cost of a car
parking fee.
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More photographs of Wolterton
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Supported
by Norfolk Tourism