Lost houses of England

We were so interested to read all your comments on our post about Sutton Scarsdale. It’s clear that these derelict or lost houses of England draw passionate interest from many and have left an indelible mark on our national consciousness.

Our family has connections with the lost Rushbrooke Hall in Suffolk. It was a beautiful Tudor building laid out in the shape of an E. My Grandfather once stayed there for a night whilst researching its history. The house was derelict so he took a sleeping bag. This would probably be classed as trespassing today but back then no one cared. In 1961 the house was devastated by fire. We are interested in what happened to the house contents and the portraits of the Jermyn Family that hung there. We think some may now be at Ickworth. At Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich, the portrait in the top middle of this group is known to have hung at Rushbrooke Hall. It depicts Henrietta Jermyn in around 1657 when she was 25. Isn’t she gorgeous!

I once came across some dinner plates in a local antique shop from Rushbrooke Hall. It seems that the contents of the house may be scattered far and wide. These items may change hands every generation or so but they still give us clues as to what life in these once great houses would have been like.