"Blickling Hall". Family home of Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII. Norfolk. England

This impressive English country house began life as a manor house. In the 11th century it was owned by Harold Goodwinson, later to become the King of England. Later King William I gave it to his chaplain. By 1091 it had become the country palace of the bishops. Towards the end of the 14th century Sir Nicholas Dagworth, an important aide to Edward III, settled at Blickling and had a rectangular motored house built. By the end of the 15th century Blickling Hall had passed into the ownership of the Boleyn family and tradition has it that this was the birthplace of Anne Boleyn. Eventually in 1616 the estate was sold to Sir Henry Hobart and his descendants remained at Blickling Hall until 1940. The current Blickling Hall was built on the ruins of the old Boleyn property in the reign of James I and is today thought of as one of England's great Jacobean houses. What a magnificent sight the hall must have been to those early visitors, turning their carriages into the long drive, passing through decorative iron gates. They would have passed the same high hedge flanking them on each side which we see today. Next they would have driven past the two identical service ranges built to flank the house and allow for a grand forecourt to be formed. A lighting from their carriages stretching in front of them would have been this magnificent red brick house with leaded light windows, many turrets and extravagant gables. A bridge would have guided them past ornamental statues clutching the Hobart's coat of arms. The bridge crosses a narrow moat today grassed over and landscaped. The outer gate, again adorned with the family coat of arms, screams wealth and privilege to all who enter. A large lightly engraved door would have been swung open giving access to a smaller courtyard and revealing the house's entrance. Once inside a dark but impressive double-staired galleried hall bedecked with fabulous works of art greeted them. From here they would have been taken through the great house, past Mortlake tapestries, an excellent collection of furniture by the likes of Chippendale, and paintings by masters such as Holbein, Gainsborough and Van Dyck to their rooms where the guests could cleanse themselves of the journey in fully plumbed-in bathrooms. Any royal or VIP would have been invited to stay in the state apartments. Dinner would have been served to them in the magnificent dining room. They would have been unaware of the frantic actions taking place in the downstairs kitchens. Life below stairs was just as hierarchical as it was upstairs with a strict pecking order. The cook would have ruled her kitchen with an iron rod and woe betide you if you got on the side of her. The highlight of any visit would have been the chance to walk into the spectacular long gallery which houses one of the finest private collections of rare books in England. Today it comprises 13,000 books. Blickling Hall was voted the most haunted house in Britain in a National Trust survey in October 2007. Legend has it that every year on May the 19th Anne Boleyn, dressed all in white and carrying her dripping severed head, arrives in a coach driven by a headless coachman and four headless horses. The coach travels up the drive of Blickling Hall and upon reaching the front door of the hall coach and driver vanish leaving just the spectre of Anne. This ghostly apparition then glides into the hall where it roams the corridors until daybreak. With alterations and enhancements continuing throughout the generations it's pleasing to note that attempts have been made to reflect the Jacobean nature of the house. The gardens are a testament to inspired planting and good husbandry during the last 300 years. The hall is set in a historic park with miles of beautiful woodland and lakeside walks. Blickling Hall has certainly had a colourful sometimes turbulent past with a fascinating array of important owners and visitors all making for a thoroughly interesting history and a most enjoyable visit.