H is for Bawburgh Hall.
Bawburgh Hall painted by Leslie Davenport, local artist, during the 1950s, with (foreground) the Dovecote (see above). Original picture the property of Olga Sinclair, when it was photographed by Carol Twinch in 1992.
H is for Bawburgh Hall. Once a magnificent house dominating the eastern approach to Bawburgh, and part of the huge Costessey Estate. It was built in 1634 - when Bawburgh was booming. It became derelict, after first being sold to the Colney Estate and then in 1954 to Philip Vincent of Wramplingham Hall, who eventually allowed it to become too unsafe and too unviable to be restored. The grounds became part of the Vincent's surrounding Duck Farm, and the Hall was demolished in 1963, in spite of an earlier preservation order. It had stood for 330 years and had had a wonderful history of residents enjoying gracious country living, with tennis courts and oak panelled rooms. The grounds now house the small development of Hall Farm Place, which was completed about 1980.
H is also for Hillside. This charming property (above) is perched slantwise on the corner of Stocks Hill and Church Street. Lucy Candler lived there at the time of the photograph, until she died in 1880 - she was great-granddaughter (see W is for Wagstaffe) and daughter of a subsequent Miller at The Mill. Following this period, the house became the country home of Charles Noverre, who was the London Manager for Norwich Union. In 1903 Charles Noverre (see N is for Noverre) invited a large outing from his company to the village and entertained them with bowling at The Hall and entertainment at The Kings Head. This event was re-enacted by present owners, Tom and Janet Hubbard on 10th June 2004.There were various tenants after Laura Noverre died in 1920 until 1985, and the property was unoccupied then until the Hubbards, acquired the property at auction in 1989, and have painstakingly restored it - to a higher standard than ever before! Tom Hubbard is currently Chairman of Bawburgh Parish Council. The 1880 photograph of Hillside is the property of Henry Ashby, a descendant of both John Wagstaffe and Lucy Candler - who visited the village from his home in Surrey, one day in May 1999 - not knowing they would get caught up in Saint Walstan's Celebrations!
ICONIC BUILDINGS
OF BAWBURGH11. HILLSIDE
Attractively perched on the corner of Stocks Hill and Church Street, Hillside stands sentinel to the village on its southern approach overlooking the symbolic green triangle with the village sign. The distinguished property, with an interesting history started life as two cottages, evidenced by maps of the early 1800s. A photograph exists of Hillside, dated 1880 (see above) when it had become one property, with the bay windows added, and owned by Lucy Candler, great-granddaughter of John Wagstaffe of Bawburgh Mill. After that date, the central front door and porch were added, and it became the country home of Charles Noverre, the grandson of a founding Director of Norwich Union, and the great-nephew of the Chevalier Noverre, dance master to Queen Antoinette. Thus the surname with French origins, which also lent itself to a cinema in Norwich, became inextricably linked to Bawburgh. Charles Noverre did not spend much of his time at Hillside, since his home was in London, but he was a generous benefactor of the Church, and famously hosted a charabanc trip from the Norwich office to Bawburgh in 1903. Mrs. Laura Noverre used their country home after Charles Noverre’s death in 1920, and until her death in 1928. A Lady Robinson then owned the property until it became the home of Herbert Baldwin, Parish Council Chairman, who held Home Guard Meetings there during the Second World War. When it became the property of the Websdales, Coal Merchants from Norwich, it became the subject of an article in Homes and Gardens in which it was described as one of the most beautiful homes in the area. It is co-incidental that the current owner of Hillside, has just completed 11 years service as Chairman of the Parish Council, and Hillside again matches that description. Tom and Jan Hubbard bought Hillside in 1989 and have painstakingly restored it, uncovering the iconic red brick façade, and bringing back the fine interiors and gardens.