Cranmer Hall, Fakenham, Norfolk self catering holiday cottages

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Cranmer Hall, Fakenham, Norfolk Fakenham, Norfolk self catering holiday cottages




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Cranmer Cottage
The front door opens from the cottage's own walled garden into a light sunny south facing lofty drawing-room/dining room which was once the billiard room. The colours are mainly shades of green with, warm coral walls and cream white linen curtains spacious and flooded with light- more manor house than cottage with its 18th century engravings, books, lamps and cache pots of flowers. The sofa is a Victorian Chesterfield, which is covered in arts and crafts weave. Over the white Adam style chimney-piece is a gilded looking-glass, to the right and left there are built-in cupboards. Next to the log basket is an antique steel and leather club fender. There is a TV and Video with a selection of tapes from Far from the Madding Crowd and to Shakespeare in Love, both shot in Norfolk. Also a hi-fi, with a selection of tapes and LP records. The main window which has fully working wooden folding shutters, with to one side a Victorian wing-chair upholstered in green velvet. The window faces South and looks out on to lawns bordered with ancient yews, and fields of the old park beyond, surrounded by woodland.

A flight of stairs leads up to a large airy bedroom with expansive views over the park to the woods beyond and where a magnificent mahogany carved four- poster which is hung with pink and rose Colefax chintz with an antique crochet cotton bedcover. To one side is a chest of drawers, flanked by a pair of upholstered Edwardian bedroom chairs. A needlepoint rug covers the natural hair cord carpet, in front of the open fire which is surrounded by a white Victorian chimney-piece, over which hangs a water-colour portrait of Prince Albert. A painted Victorian dressing-table doubles as a writing table. The walls are hung with antique hand-coloured botanical prints in maple frames and various water colours and also antique prints.
There is a small en-suite bathroom with a sloping ceiling, papered in blue-and-white toile de jouy Colefax paper and low voltage halogen lights, for a soft but bright light.

This option means that you hire the cottage for two people and have use of the Master bedroom, drawing room and the kitchenette. Obviously you still have use of the garden. You can either dine at the round table beside the window which faces west out onto the cottage's walled garden or wander outside into the garden planted with old fashioned roses and holly hocks, honey suckle and euphorbia. There you can dine under the willow tree or in the loggia, where you can seek shade or shelter from the sun. There is garden furniture, an umbrella plus a barbecue for al fresco meals. Leading off this room is a small kitchen with pine coloured units with fridge freezer, microwave, coffee percolator and washing machine. (A larger kitchen, dining room for entertaining may be available on request).

Cranmer Cottage has its own garage and parking space. Cranmer Cottage's charm, comfort and peace make it a year round favourite with everyone - even those who do not have a honeymoon to celebrate but just want to escape for an interlude of peace and privacy.

Cranmer Wing
In the Victorian period Philip Webb was instructed by the then owner Sir Lawrence Jones to add a Wing and clock-tower to the hall to provide a billiard room, ballroom and more guest bedrooms, together with a coach-house and stables all of which are now Grade II*. It is this pleasure wing with its own entrances and walled cottage garden which is now available to rent.

The Wing is entered from the Italian Courtyard and the main door leads into the entrance hall. The wing faces south and its large windows make sure the house is flooded with sunlight.

The drawing room/library (measures 34 x 26 ft. and used to be a small ballroom, and is now a lofty drawing room with a library of some 2,000 books, handsome but with an easy elegance. The four full length windows look out onto the lawns with lavender and nepeta flower beds all sheltered by lOft high yew hedges. The windows have working wooden shutters which fold to allow just the right amount of sun to flood in.
On the wooden floor there is thick pile Donegal rug on which rest two late Victorian chesterfields and a Howard sofa with silk down cushions. There are two show-wood Edwardian arm chairs covered in blue and white ticking. The walls are painted in sugar bag blue and are divided at each end by large mahogany doors which in turn are flanked by white arched recesses, lined with porcelain. The large open fireplace is surrounded by a white carved wood chimney-piece over which hangs a landscape oil painting.
There are two Chinese black and gold lacquer cabinets, one of which contains the TV/Video/Hifi and video, tape and LP library.
Up the steep staircase to the floor above the drawing room where on a long landing there are three bedrooms, two large double beds, and a room with twin beds. All these rooms are sunny, cosy and with southerly aspect. The blue room with double bed has William Morris curtains and some dressing table arts and crafts chairs, the cream room has again William Morris curtains, dressing table and painted occasional chairs and the twin bedded 'Green Room' has green and white Jane Churchill paper and green and white Colefax chintz curtains. All the walls are covered in water colours and antique prints lit by plenty of lamps and porcelain bowls of pot-pourri and there is always fresh white linen and fluffy towels.
Children love the tree swing on the high branches of the sweet chestnut tree and the tree-house. When it is raining they play with the toy soldiers on the fort and the fire engine, or watch Pooh Bear and the Jungle Book.

Tel 01328 863161

Norfolk self catering

Cranmer Hall, Fakenham, Norfolk self catering holiday cottages