Wolterton Park wins second Restoration Award
“We are thrilled to announce this award to houses that have shown how to fight off that terrible and pernicious disease, Decaying Mansion Syndrome.””
Wolterton Park, a stunning 18th century estate in North Norfolk, has been recognised in a respected British restoration award – its second accolade this autumn.
On Monday 15 November Historic Houses announced that Wolterton Park had won first prize for the prestigious Historic Houses Restoration Award 2022. Previously, on October 25, Wolterton Park won ‘Restoration of a Georgian Country House’ in the 2022 Georgian Group Architectural Awards.
Wolterton Park was built to the design of the King’s architect Thomas Ripley, between 1725 and 1741, for Horatio Walpole, brother of Sir Robert - our first Prime Minister. Owners Peter Sheppard and Keith Day bought the Hall from the Walpole family in 2016. It had been uninhabited for 30 years and the subsequent restoration work has been extensive.
Peter Sheppard said: “Restoring Wolterton has been the best project of our lives and we are delighted to receive recognition with these awards. It has been a challenging journey at times, but it is incredibly rewarding to have restored the Hall and its buildings to their original beauty.”
In addition to cleaning the stone and brick elevations of the house, the eight state rooms on the piano nobile and 12 bedrooms and bathrooms in the Main Hall have been fully restored to the highest standard. The East Wing and four estate cottages have also been transformed and now provide an income as holiday lets. Wolterton Hall today provides a wonderful venue for large events like weddings, corporate gatherings, family parties and a location shoot for film and advertising. Revenues from these projects help to fund the continued rejuvenation of the estate.
Future plans include restoring three gardeners’ cottages, four piggeries and completing the walled gardens. A £4M conversion of the 18th century Coach House and Stables will create five further holiday lets and community spaces.
Wolterton Park jointly won the Historic Houses Restoration award. Ben Cowell, Director General at Historic Houses, said: “We are thrilled to announce this award to houses that have shown how to fight off that terrible and pernicious disease, Decaying Mansion Syndrome.”