Downham Hall
In north-west Suffolk on the south side of the Little Ouze River – the border of Suffolk and Norfolk – Downham Hall once lay in an eighteenth century landscape park but was demolished in 1925. Due to the sandy free-draining soils, the area once had extensive heathland used for sheep grazing and rabbit warrens. The Hall, which was either a remodelling or replacement for an earlier house, had medieval origins and was part of a church and manor house grouping. The estate was mainly known for its hunting and shooting. In the late-eighteenth century it had two main drives with entrance lodges that were flanked by avenues of trees and a number of new plantations were planted. It is possible Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown advised on the new landscape park design. Remnants of a ha-ha separating the gardens from the park from this period survive. The estate was bought by the Forestry Commission and the house demolished to make way for their regional headquarters and the parkland was absorbed into a new afforestation scheme and is today within Thetford Forest. The house site and gardens are now covered in private housing, although an icehouse and remnants of the walled kitchen garden survive.
Thetford Forest open to the public
