Read an account of Costessey Hall as it was early in the 19th Century
Cossey Hall, Norfolk;

THE SEAT OF

LORD STAFFORD

The lodge at Cossey Park stands about two miles from Norwich turnpike, on the road to Lynn.  The house stands in a beautiful valley, the gentle acclivities of which are studded with woods and plantations, happily disposed, while the winding of the river Wensum *, at the foot of a delightful lawn, and through the meadows, visible from the rising grounds to a great distance, adds considerable interest to the scene.  From a tower, upon an eminence, is an extensive prospect of the surrounding country; the city of Norwich, very distinctly seen, lies about four miles from Cossey.  The local beauty of the neighbourhood of this venerable seat was much increased by the tasteful improvements of the late Sir William Jerningham , Bart., which were conducted upon a grand scale.
    The Mansion was erected by Sir Henry Jerningham, Knt.,Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Mary, and was commenced in the reign of that princess; but from the date of 1564, over the porch, it appears not to have been finished until that of Elizabeth.The plan of the edifice is that of an half H, with the front towards the east, and projecting wings terminating in gable, crowned with low pinnacles : the Porch in the centre is not without decoration, but there is none of the exuberance of architectural ornament so frequently introduced at that period.   Its style has been strictly preserved, and no innovation permitted upon its antique front.  The Mansion contains several spacious apartments, adorned with numerous family Portraits, and others of distinguished character in English history ; a very fine original portrait of Queen Mary the First, and a Cabinet of Miniatures of the Family, some originals and others copies from large paintings, formed by the late Edward Jerningham, Esq.  There is also a most exquisite original drawing, by Vandyck, of Thomas Earl of Arundel, and Althea his countess, seated under a canopy, with all their children before them.  One room contains a library of elegant and well chosen books.
    The ancient Hall, now used as a Dining-room, opens upon a Conservatory, upwards of ninety feet in length, which extends to the entrance of the splendid Chapel, lately erected.  The domestic chapel was an invariable appendages to Mansions of an early date, and is now particularly necessary as a part of the establishment of a Roman Catholic family.  It is 90 feet in length, 35 feet wide and 20 feet high; and in the annexed View, taken from the south-east, forms a prominent object.
    The Chapel is built in the pointed style of architecture,with all its appropriate decorations and members, its mullioned windows, ornamented buttresses, and pinnacle terminations, derived from pure models; nor has the customary heraldic embellishments been omitted : in sculptured compartments under the battlements, are shields alternately bearing the arms of Jerningham and Stafford ; also over an entrance on the north-side are some of the family quarterings.  The interior is conformed in exact conformity to ancient custom, all the seats of oak , ornamented at the ends with carved finials, and the various monastries on the Continent. and executed after designs of the German and Flemish school.  In a series, beneath the windows, are carved in oak the armorial coat of Jeringham, three arming buckles, impaled with those of various alliances of this illustrious family.  The groining of the roof is at once simple and elegant.
    The design of the chapel was formed by the correct taste of the late Edward Jerningham, Esq.,( see footnote) the younger brother of his Lordship, a man pre-eminently distinguished for every generous virtue and talent, of heart and head, that can adorn the character of a perfect genteman.
    Through Mary, the eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Plowden, Esq., by Mary the daughter of the Honourable John Stafford Howard, youger son of William Viscount Stafford, beheaded in 1680, the late Sir William Jerningham inherited the baronial castle, with several estates in the counties of Salop and Stafford, belonging to the ancient Barony of Stafford.

    Footnotes:
                        * for river Wensum read Tud.
 
 

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Particularly if you  climbed  the  spiral staircase to the top of the ruined tower of Costessey Hall !!
 

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