Our First Visit 1961

Hyde End House 1939
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As far as I was concerned, at the tender age of eleven, I belonged to a Norfolk family having only known Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, my birthplace. The untitled photograph of Hyde End House that hung in my grandfather's hall was an enigma and so intrigued my mother that she had to find out its relevence and where it was. After giving my grandfather a grilling, it transpired that this was our family's old ancestral home until 1917!! The quest was on to find out more and a visit was planned in the summer of 1961. Sadly by then we found it in a dilapidated state covered in ivy and overrun with chickens but we could see how grand it must have been in its prime. We learnt later that my great great great uncle Charles built the Georgian house in 1799 after a disastrous fire destroyed much of the old Elizabethan part although some of this remains as the converted outbuildings. Thankfully the house was renovated, the old rendering being removed to reveal the original brickwork. We had the pleasure of seeing this in process during a subsequent visit. Long may it stand for hopefully another 200+ years!