Felbrigg Hall’s future is dry and bright, following completion of major building project

Over the last seven months, the entire roof of this 36-metre-long structure has been carefully removed, repaired and realigned so that increased rainfall may safely flow away from the building and into a new sustainable drainage system, including a 10,000-litre harvesting tank, ready to be used in the gardens.

The South Corridor is a prominent feature of the Felbrigg skyline. Positioned between the hall and the stable courtyard, it is a service wing bookended by Dutch gables with a blue-faced clock tower at its centre. As with any home and building, water ingress is a serious issue, becoming more frequent and urgent to deal with because of climate change. Before this project the corridor’s drainage system would often fail in heavy rain. The roof was angled towards the corridor’s inner walls and serviced by internal downpipes – design quirks leftover from its original 1750s incarnation as an open-air promenade.

With the help of architects Donald Insall Associates, the design team Wright Consulting and Daniel Connal Partnership, and builders King & Company (Norfolk) Ltd, a major programme is now complete. This encompasses structural, brick and render repairs, a new surface water drainage system, and extensive refurbishment. With many of these vital changes largely hidden, the corridor’s most noticeable makeover awaits visitors inside where a colour scheme from the early 20th century has been reinstated. Lime plaster walls and ceilings painted in a shade of buff are offset by crimson gloss windows and a dark chocolate shade on the doors and woodwork, giving the corridor a sense of character once more.

Parallel to the corridor runs the Rose Garden, now made more accessible with wide step-free paths laid in York stone. A greater number of cast iron benches, both original and replica, provide pause points to sit and enjoy the architecture of the hall, climate-resilient planting and views of the parkland beyond.

John Holroyd, Architect, Donald Insall Associates, said:

‘This comprehensive programme of conservation work at Felbrigg Hall’s South Corridor will strengthen its long-term resilience.

Working with a Grade II*-listed building, directly abutting the Grade I-listed Hall, we adopted a light touch approach to carefully implement innovative interventions while ensuring the building’s historic character is enhanced but fundamentally unchanged.

Ultimately, this project will help future-proof the South Corridor, and the wider Felbrigg site, without causing overt harm to the historic nature of the building, ensuring it can be enjoyed for decades to come.’

Vicci Godwin, Operations Supervisor, King & Company (Norfolk) Ltd, said:

‘With nearly 4000 hours spent on the project, it is testament to the skills and knowledge of our heritage team that visitors may not even notice how much work has been done to the South Corridor of Felbrigg Hall. We are incredibly proud to help preserve historic buildings such as this for future generations and we are proud of our dedicated and hard-working staff and subcontractors.’

Visitors to Felbrigg start their journey at the South Corridor, with rooms leading off it that provide an insight into what life was like for those who worked at the hall centuries ago. These include the estate office, servants’ hall and tenants’ waiting room, above which it is thought a firework workshop was located until it blew up in 1755. This explosion resulted in the purchase of a small fire engine, as well as 22 leather and metal buckets. These have been returned to hooks lining the corridor, along with other items from the collection, now conditions have been stabilised.

The project was funded in part by a grant from the Wolfson Foundation and made possible thanks to the support of National Trust members, gifts and money raised by Felbrigg’s second-hand bookshop.

Jody McKenzie, Project Manager, National Trust, said: ‘

We are thrilled to reopen the South Corridor of Felbrigg Hall after seven months of construction. Visitors will once again be able to enjoy the full route through the house now that it’s protected from future weather conditions. It is thanks to our funders, National Trust members and visitors that projects such as this can happen. Caring for things out of sight, such as roofs and drainage systems, allows us to protect the wider fabric of the hall and its collection, so that more people can experience them for many years to come.’