Wingfield Old College is over 650 years old and is one of the most extraordinary houses in Suffolk, the grand Georgian facade of Wingfield College conceals a rare mediaeval survival: the remnants of a chantry college of priests, complete with a cloister walk and a Great Hall from 1362. It is part of the origins and history of education in England and a reflection of the great wealth and power of mediaeval East Anglia.
Now a private family home, the site of the old college is of rare historical and archaeological interest. It is associated with many important and colourful historical characters, including The Black Prince, Mary Tudor, Henry VIII and the de la Pole family (the Dukes of Suffolk and one of the most powerful families in mediaeval England).
It is one of the largest surviving timber-framed buildings of its type and age in Europe. Fascinating interiors include a spectacular galleried Medieval Great Hall (incorporating a Fourteenth Century queen-post truss with a Tudor cambered tie-beam); a corridor running behind the west range which formed part of the original 14th century cloister; and a mixture of Mediaeval, Tudor and Georgian rooms.
The unusual gardens include the eighteenth century carriage driveway, a William and Mary walled garden with radical modern planting, mediaeval fishponds, wild flower meadows, woodland walks, and a unique eccentric topiary garden on the site of the mediaeval courtyard.
Among numerous entries in historic and architectural reference books, Wingfield College has three stars in Simon Jenkins' bestselling guide: "England's Thousand Best Houses". It has been featured in Country Life and Gardening Today.
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Wingfield Old College and Gardens