Oxnead
Oxnead is a deserted village which lies on the
River Bure - approximately
4 miles south-east of Aylsham.
The name derives from the Old English for pasture for
oxen.
Oxnead Hall was one of the homes of the
Paston
family. It was originally built around 1580 by Admiral
Sir Clement Paston and in 1676 it hosted King Charles II
and his court. It was remodelled by Nicholas Stone
between 1631-42. (He also sculpted some memorial busts
of Paston family members which can be seen inside Oxnead
and Paston churches.)

Oxnead Hall today

Oxnead Hall Gardens
However, by the eighteenth century this once great Norfolk family
had declined and William Paston, Second Earl of
Yarmouth, was forced to sell the hall and estate to pay
off debts. The hall was sold to Admiral Anson in 1757
and then eventually demolished - with only the servant's
wing remaining in tact. This wing provided the basis for
the hall today - which was extensively redesigned
by the photographer John Hedgecoe (1932-2010).
Among the effects left in the house when it was sold were a
great many letters relating to the family's affairs -
dating back to the 15th Century. Fortunately these
letters found their way into the hands of the Norfolk
historian Francis Blomefield. However, they then passed
into the hands of a chemist at Diss
before eventually being obtained by Sir John Fenn of
Dereham. In 1787 Fenn
published the first selection of the letters. The
complete collection of approximately 1000 letters was
published in the 1870s.
Most of the Paston Letters centre around Margaret
Paston - either as writer or recipient - and provide a
fascinating insight into the War of the Roses period.
Many of the letters were written at
Caister Castle which
the family inherited (via a contested will) from Sir
John Fastolf. Like Parson Woodforde's diary, the letters
were not written with literary fame in mind - but purely
to pass information and record daily events. Agnes
Paston - who lived in the hall - was also one of the
family letter writers.
The church at Oxnead contains a number of memorials
to members of the Paston family - including a bust of
Katherine Paston and a grand alabaster tomb of Sir
Clement.

St. Michael's Church, Oxnead

Sir Clement Paston's Tomb

Bust of Lady Katherine Paston
The poet Michael Rivière (1919-1997) wrote a
moving poem entitled On Lady Katherine Paston's Tomb
at Oxnead in which he contemplated the demise of
both Oxnead Hall and the Paston family.
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