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Anmer Hall

Coordinates: 52°50′3.3″N 0°34′47″E / 52.834250°N 0.57972°E / 52.834250; 0.57972
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For the theatre director with pseudonym Anmer Hall, see Alderson Burrell Horne.

Anmer Hall
Building work at Anmer Hall, 2013
Anmer Hall is located in Norfolk
Anmer Hall
Location in Norfolk, England
General information
Architectural styleGeorgian
LocationAnmer, Norfolk, England
Coordinates52°50′3.3″N 0°34′47″E / 52.834250°N 0.57972°E / 52.834250; 0.57972
Current tenantsThe Prince and Princess of Wales
Renovated2013–2014
Renovation cost£1.5 million

Anmer Hall is a Georgian country house in the village of Anmer in Norfolk, England. Built in the 19th century, it was acquired by the Sandringham Estate sometime after Queen Victoria purchased the property, and has previously been leased to business owners, civil servants, and members of the British royal family. It is currently the country residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, given to the couple as a wedding gift by Elizabeth II.


Design and location

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Anmer Hall, shown with new roof, in October 2014

The Georgian house was built in 1802.[1] It has two storeys and an attic with dormer windows. The long south front comprises 13 bays, and was refaced with red bricks c. 1815. It has 13 ground-floor windows set in blank arches and a semicircular porch on two Tuscan columns, with 11 windows on the first floor. The three central bays are topped by a pediment. The north front is of rubble carrstone and includes four c. 17th-century ogee-headed sashes on the first floor. Renovations c. 1900 added a brick-dressed skin to the north front, together with a projecting entrance porch and a tower towards the eastern end, in the corner formed with a carrstone service wing also added c. 1900. [citation needed] The house was registered as a Grade II* listed building in 1984, but was later de-listed.[2]

Anmer Hall has ten bedrooms.[1] The interior style has been described to be "a mixture of contemporary designs and well-loved antiques", decorated with gilt picture frames and houseplants.[3] The walls have been reported to be painted in cream colours, while the dining room is a "bold jewel green".[3] The house has an outdoor swimming pool and a tennis court.[3]

The surrounding estate became a scheduled monument in 2003, and includes earthworks marking the sites of buildings from the medieval village of Anmer.[4] The village church, St Mary, lies close to the house, but a short distance away from the modern village. The house is 12 miles (19 kilometres) northeast of King's Lynn, 2 miles (3 km) east of the King's residence at Sandringham and 2 miles (3 km) west of Houghton Hall.[citation needed]

History

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Originally the seat of the Coldham family,[5] the Anmer Hall estate was purchased in 1896 at auction for £25,000 by the famed serial fraudster[6] Ernest Terah Hooley before his first bankruptcy. The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) had attempted to purchase the property prior to Hooley's acquisition,[7] and, through an intermediary, Prince Edward requested to purchase the property from Hooley. Hooley agreed, allowing him to buy it at cost in 1898, after which it became part of the Sandringham Estate.[8][5] The reason given was that the Prince wanted the house for the use of his daughter, Princess Maud. A further motivation for the Prince's action was to avoid the possibility of Hooley's business promoter Alexander Meyrick Broadley, whom the Prince had implicated in the Cleveland Street scandal, from becoming a constant guest on the estate.[8][9][10]

Anmer Hall was leased to John Loader Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby who served as Governor-General of Sudan, and held diplomatic posts in the Colonial Office and Ireland.[citation needed] His daughter, Penelope Aitken, socialised with the royal family and reportedly walked spaniels around the estate with George V.[citation needed]

From 1972 to 1990, Anmer Hall was leased to the Duke and Duchess of Kent as their country house. It was subsequently rented for the next decade by Hugh van Cutsem, a close friend of King Charles III.[11] During his residency, the house was often visited by Prince William and Prince Harry in their childhood.[11] The house was then leased to the family of James Everett, owner of kitchen timber company, Norfolk Oak.[12]

The Prince and Princess of Wales resided mainly at Anmer Hall with their children between 2015 and 2017

The lease to the Everett family was terminated early following the allocation for Anmer Hall for The Prince and Princess of Wales, then known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.[13] The country home was given as a wedding gift to the couple from Elizabeth II.[14][15][16] A £1.5 million refurbishment programme was put in place, paid for by private royal family funds. Renovations included a new roof, new kitchen, the addition of a conservatory, complete internal redecoration; and an extensive tree-planting programme to afford the Duke and Duchess greater privacy.[17][18] The couple also keeps bees to produce honey on the estate.[19]

The then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children moved into Anmer Hall in 2015, and used it as their main residence until 2017.[20][21] It continues to be their private country home, and the family have been reported to spend weekends and school holidays at Anmer.[22][23] William and Catherine's annual Christmas card has featured photographs of the couple outside the home alongside their children.[11][24][25] The family isolated at the residence during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] A montage video of the family, filmed within the grounds of Anmer Hall, was released to celebrate the Duke and Duchess's tenth wedding anniversary.[26]

See also

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  • Kensington Palace, the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales
  • Adelaide Cottage, in Windsor, the family residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales
  • Llwynywermod, a house in Carmarthenshire, Wales, the Prince, and Princess of Wales residence in Wales, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall

References

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  1. ^ a b "This Is the Countryside Home Where Kate Middleton and Prince William Really Live". Vogue. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Anmer Hall, Anmer". British Listed Buildings. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d Maitland, Hailey (5 April 2020). "Here's Where The Duke & Duchess Of Cambridge Are Self-Isolating During The Covid-19 Pandemic". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  4. ^ Historic England. "Medieval settlement around Anmer Hall (1020822)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b Strong, Roy (2 April 2013). "A home fit to make Royal family history". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. ^ Robb, George White-Collar Crime in Modern England: Financial Fraud and Business Morality, 1845-1929, Cambridge University Press, 1992, pp. 105–107
  7. ^ Hooley, Paul (18 November 2014). "The secret crook who owned William and Kate's new home". Express. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  8. ^ a b La Marquise de Fontenoy (pseudonym of Marguerite Cunliffe-Owen), Chicago Tribune, 8 May 1916 http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1916/05/08/page/6/article/la-marquise-de-fontenoy Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Another London Society Leader Gone., The Salt Lake Herald 1 January 1890
  10. ^ The West End Scandal: Another Flight, Evening News (Sydney, Australia), Tuesday 14 January 1890, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108795706 Archived 20 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b c "Everything You Need to Know About Anmer Hall, Prince William and Kate Middleton's Country Home". Town & Country. July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Norfolk Oak – Contact details". norfolkoak.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013.
  13. ^ So can the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge avoid the scandals of Anmer Hall?, then known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Archived 28 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Express, 13 January 2013
  14. ^ "Kate and William make media plea for privacy during stay in Norfolk". The Guardian. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Prince William to swap armed forces for royal and charity duties". BBC News. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  16. ^ Rayer, Gordon. "Queen seeks permission for 'major development' on Sandringham estate," Archived 27 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine telegraph.co.uk, 10 January 2013, accessed 11 January 2013.
  17. ^ "Anmer Hall: inside Kate and William's new home- News – The Week UK". The Week UK. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  18. ^ Maitland, Hayley (5 April 2020). "Here's Where The Duke & Duchess Of Cambridge Are Self-Isolating During The Covid-19 Pandemic". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Duchess of Cambridge reveals she's a beekeeper by bringing schoolchildren pot of her own honey". ITV. 22 June 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  20. ^ Duboff, Josh (20 January 2017). "Kate Middleton and Prince William Are Officially Moving to London This Fall". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  21. ^ Nicholl, Katie (April 2015). "William and Kate Will Move into Anmer Hall Before the New Baby Arrives". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  22. ^ Bonner, Mehra (22 April 2021). "Go Inside Anmer Hall: Photos of Prince William and Kate Middleton's Country Home". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Anmer Hall: inside Prince William and Kate Middleton's Norfolk home". The Week. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021..
  24. ^ "Prince William and Kate Middleton's Adorable Christmas Card Leaked Online This Week". Town & Country. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Prince William and Kate Middleton's Family Christmas Card Is Here". Town & Country. 16 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Other Royals Wish Prince William and Kate Middleton a Happy Anniversary". Town & Country. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
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