If you have arrived here as a fan of history, folklore and Norfolk, I will surmise that you have heard of, and perhaps even been fortunate enough to visit Raynham Hall. Situated in West Norfolk, the Hall began construction in 1619 under the instruction of Sir Robert Townshend. Further expansion was carried out in the... Continue Reading →

I remember the day clearly. Too clearly. My long Wednesday Addams’ plaits. The antiquated brown cotton dress. The happy tiredness of a day spent among thirty other squealing, giggling Brownies. But as I stared lazily out of the coach window on the journey home, something felt wrong. Time seemed to stop as my stomach tensed... Continue Reading →

We know it as the land of fire and ice. Snowscapes reminiscent of Narnia; eternal winter. Velvet black skies punctuated by elusive shows of shimmering lights in colours unknown to nature. Brooding volcanoes, powerful and unpredictable bubble and steam in sharp contrast with the eerie stillness of silent, frozen glaciers. It comes as no surprise... Continue Reading →

You may have read my previous blog post on the legendary duel that killed Sir Henry Hobart, 4th Baronet and owner of Blickling Hall in 1698. Curiously, Hobart’s remarkable story doesn’t end with his death; in fact it appears that his post-humous exploits were almost as dramatic as those of his lifetime. Little did he... Continue Reading →

As I step onto the path into the woods, my senses come alive. I feel the familiar bounce of the woodland floor beneath my feet. An intricate chorus of birdsong soothes me, and as I watch my dear little dog race ahead, I know that he too is drinking in cold lungfuls of fresh, reviving... Continue Reading →

With the long-awaited arrival of spring, lengthening days generate a feeling of life and light within us. Thoughts of the natural world sprout in our minds as budding green shoots, tuning us into this season of growth and rebirth. But where there is light, there is also darkness; the balance of nature demands that where... Continue Reading →

A seventeenth century document held by the Norfolk Record Office details the high drama of a spectacular clash of egos that took place more than three hundred years ago. The broiling emotions of the challenger to the duel, the last to be fought on Norfolk soil, can be read between the lines of his opponent’s... Continue Reading →

Language, we are told is a constantly evolving creature. Whilst this is undeniable, in certain rural areas this evolution can be somewhat slow. We have, for example in the Norfolk vernacular today the phrase ‘to put the toad on someone.’ Admittedly this is not an everyday comment, but this curious phrase that seems to date... Continue Reading →

As we cosy up around the fireside on long winter evenings, thoughts turn towards telling stories of ghosts, spirits and the old ways. Popular Victorian winter past times may arise, such as the retelling of classic gothic ghost stories, seances and tarot reading. But how much do we really know about tarot, the cartomancy cloaked... Continue Reading →

It would seem that Dr. Augustus Jessopp’s reported sighting of a ghost in the library of Mannington Hall caused quite a stir amongst friends and family – so much so that he published a version of it in two contemporary literary papers three months after the sighting, in January 1880. This version appears somewhat ‘curated’... Continue Reading →