If you’re paying £20 for an adult ticket alone (or £2 extra if you pay on the gate), you want to be sure that a place is worth the visit, right? Until recently, I’d not been to Kentwell Hall – described as “one of the finest moated Tudor houses in England” – since I was a child.
With their ‘Lambs & Spring Bulbs* days offering a family springtime experience, I decided to pay the £45 for the three of us to visit the house, gardens and farm. While there were plenty of positives, there were also a few drawbacks that are worth bearing in mind should you decide to visit.
The positives include…
The gardens
The Kentwell Hall gardens are beautiful, with plenty to explore for all ages. Spanning nearly 30 acres, there’s woodland, there’s a walled garden, there are water features. There’s the moat (complete with fish), a Yew Castle and a bug hotel. There are sculptures, fruit trees, impressive topiary and more. I’m not sharing too many photos, as it’s well worth visiting for yourself and exploring the surprises around every corner.
The farm
So, I probably wouldn’t visit Kentwell Hall just for this. However, their traditional working farm is fun to explore. Here, you’ll find rare breed pigs, a Suffolk Punch cross, Shetland ponies and chickens – and we also managed to spot the two peahens (didn’t see the peacock) on our visit.
There are also sheep, and, at this time of year, newborn lambs as well as a ‘maternity ward’ for the heavily pregnant sheep. I liked the fact that a camera linked to the tearoom allows visitors to see any activity in this area while eating or drinking.
The house
Kentwell Hall itself is an intriguing place. This grand, moated building has wings dating from the 16th century and outbuildings from the 15th, and the insight is a mish-mash of all different eras.
The Phillips family has owned Kentwell Hall since the 1970s, and they’ve made a huge number of changes since then. Wander around two floors of the building – and the outbuildings – and you’ll be surprised at the variations in style. From the Tudor kitchen to the bedroom created for the Duke of York by Thomas Hopper, and even a Chinese-inspired bedroom, the majority of rooms have detailed information sheets about their contents, and for those refurbished by the current owners, details of their vision at the time.
Its family-friendly nature
Curious children will find plenty to do at Kentwell Hall. As soon as we walked in we were offered a springtime I-spy sheet, giving the seven-year-old the challenge of spotting seasonal finds around the estate. By the entrance there is a small obstacle course and a series of wooden games to play, and the brick maze just outside the Hall kept him entertained, too.
There’s a Yew Castle to explore. There are various sculptures dotted around the gardens, and some impressive topiary (it took him a while to spot the caterpillar, though! There’s a Camera Obscura to discover, and he was amazed when we showed him it in action.
Plus, of course, there’s the obligatory shop within the ticket office, selling a variety of small toys. What’s not to love?
The events
There’s always something going on at Kentwell Hall. We went during a lambing and spring bulbs weekend, but check their website to see what’s coming up.
From Easter egg hunts to Tudor May Day experiences (including costumed volunteers), from history and food festivals to Magic Weekends, there’s always something different to see and do.
On the downside, though…
The place could do with a little TLC
I know, I know – Kentwell Hall is an old building. The main house, though, does need a bit of attention.
There are sofas falling apart. There are cobwebs everywhere. There are cracks in the walls and ceilings, and the whole place just feels a bit rundown.
There’s a wooden games area by the main entrance, the wood of some of which had rotted away, making the games unusable. There were rowing boat oars floating in the moat. I appreciate that it’s a big place to stay on top of, but when visitors are paying that kind of money to get in…
When the current owners bought the place in 1970, says the Kentwell website, “it stood neglected and in need of much investment”. They’ve certainly invested, as the descriptions of each room attest to, but we left feeling that there’s a great amount of general maintenance – rather than refurbishment – to be done.
The café isn’t great
There’s just one catering option on site: the Paddocks Tea Garden and Tearoom. The cakes and scones looked alright, but we needed lunch and with no menu or real info on the Kentwell Hall website, I’d gambled on it being suitable.
There was a range of baguettes with various fillings on offer, priced at over £7 each (around the £4 mark for a half baguette for kids). These were served with a side salad, but seemed ridiculously overpriced.
My egg mayo offering was ok-ish, but the BLT wasn’t great – half the fat on the bacon was rock solid, half was far too chewy. The child barely ate any of his tuna baguette, which, given it’s his favourite filling, was a surprise. And at £3.90 for two cans of drink earlier in the day, one thing became clear: when we go back, we’ll be taking our own refreshments.
Despite these downsides, Kentwell Hall is well worth a visit. While the ticket price may seem high, there’s plenty on-site to keep you entertained for the whole day. The place could do with a little TLC, absolutely, but we’ll no doubt be back – I’d love the child to experience one of their reenactment days!