Blickling Hall - History

History

In the fifteenth century, Blickling Hall was in the possession of Sir John Fastolf of Caister in Norfolk (1380–1459), who made a fortune in the Hundred Years' War, and whose coat of arms is still on display there. Later, the Hall was in the possession of the Boleyn family, and home to Sir Thomas Boleyn, created Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Elizabeth, between 1499 and 1505. It is presumed that their first two children Mary and George were born at Blickling Hall, along with several other Boleyn infants who did not live long. If the couple's most famous child, Anne Boleyn, was born before 1505 (as one school of historical thought contends) then she too was born at Blickling. Other historians maintain that Anne was born after 1505, probably in 1507, and by that time Sir Thomas had moved to Hever Castle in Kent. Nonetheless, a statue and portrait of Anne Boleyn reside in Blickling Hall claiming "Anna Bolena hic nata 1507" (Anne Boleyn born here 1507).

The current Blickling Hall was built on the ruins of the old Boleyn property in the reign of James I, by Sir Henry Hobart, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and 1st Baronet, who bought Blickling from Robert Clere in 1616. The architect of Hatfield House, Robert Lyminge, is credited with the design of the current structure. The Lord Chief Justice married Dorothy, the daughter of Sir Robert Bell of Beaupre Hall, Outwell/Upwell, Norfolk, Speaker of the House of Commons 1572–1576. A grand display of heraldic material is present throughout the estate.