TG2507 : Cereal crop by Coronation Belt
taken 9 years ago, near to Trowse Newton, Norfolk, England
Originally this was Crown Point Hall, built in 1784 to the designs of Henry Edward Coe in the Rennaissance Revival style for Sir Robert John Harvey, and rebuilt in about 1865. Jeremiah Colman (of mustard fame) acquired it in 1871, following Sir Harvey's suicide. The main house is of red brick with ashlar dressings, hipped plain tile roofs and prominent multiple ridge stacks.
The building was enlarged and extended in 1902/1905 by Edward Boardman > Link and comprising 70,000 sq ft of panelled rooms with mosaic walls, pieces of reset medieval stonework and 16th centuy terracotta plaques from Bixley Hall > Link which was also owned by the Colmans. It is adjoined by an early squash court and a cast-iron conservatory (restored in the late 20th century).
The Hall is situated within Crown Point Park which was established some time after 1784, and extended south and west after the diversion of the local roads in 1806. The gardens were laid out by William Broderick in 1861, and enlarged later to the south and north.
The Colman family sold the Hall in 1955, after which it became Whitlingham Hospital, a hospital for geriatrics, and its grounds were carved up for quarrying. After the hospital closed in the 1990s, the Hall was converted into 53 apartments.
The Norwich Southern Bypass now bisects Crown Point Park and a ski slope > Link has been constructed in the northwest corner. According to Norfolk Heritage, the basic planting as well as the pleasure grounds with a rockery, and a concrete pond with fountain intended as fire reservoir are still in place.
Jeremiah Colman is buried at the family plot in Rosary Road cemetery > Link. The Colmans still own about 4,000 acres of farmland in the area.