Moreton Hall
Late-eighteenth century Moreton Hall is a country house designed by the well-known architect Robert Adam for John Symonds. Originally called St Edmund’s Hill when it sat in parkland created from arable fields, in the late-eighteenth century it changed its name to The Mount and shortly after to Moreton Hall. A late-nineteenth century wing was added to create the house seen today. High on a hill, its site gave extensive views south and westward over Bury St Edmunds and the abbey site. There is a northern drive with entrance lodge and shelterbelts of trees. To accommodate the slope of the site, a raised terrace and inner garden was created that developed over time to accommodate a rose garden. A late-nineteenth century pond and fountain lies south of the house and it once had a square walled garden, possibly contemporary with the house. In the twentieth century the house and parkland became a preparatory school with the rest of its estate broken up and sold for residential development, to create the Moreton Hall housing estate that continues to grow today. A health club has been built within the grounds and the school closed in 2020, since when the house has fallen into disrepair and, as of 2026, is on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register.
House not open to the public
