Burnham Westgate Hall
A Grade II* listed Georgian country house near Burnham Market in Norfolk, substantially remodelled in the 1780s by the architect John Soane.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Burnham Westgate Hall is a historic country house near Burnham Market in north Norfolk, England, approximately two miles south of the North Sea coast. Although the present building is Georgian, the site was previously occupied by Polstede Hall, a house built in the 1750s by Matthew Brettingham for Pinckney Wilkinson. The property became associated with the Pitt family when Wilkinson gave it to his daughter Anne on her marriage to Thomas Pitt in 1783. Pitt, a nephew of Prime Minister William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and a cousin of William Pitt the Younger, became the first Baron Camelford in 1784. Between 1783 and 1785, the earlier house was remodelled in a Palladian manner by John Soane, later one of Britain’s most influential architects. The work was among Soane’s first substantial country-house commissions and immediately preceded his work at Letton Hall. The alterations included a new composition of central block and wings, stables, a lodge, and a distinctive split cantilevered staircase. The house has sometimes been described as a smaller companion to nearby Holkham Hall, while Thomas Pitt reportedly compared his residence with the Palazzo Pitti. Some of the conservative interior work may have been carried out by the Norwich builder and sculptor John de Carle to Soane’s designs, and at least one fireplace is attributed to de Carle’s supply. The hall is a substantial three-storey building of Gault brick with stone detailing and slate roofs. Its principal elevation is organised around a pedimented central block with projecting wings. Historic interiors include plaster decoration, bolection-moulded fireplaces, rococo wood carving, enfiladed reception rooms, and Soane’s Imperial staircase with stone treads and cast-iron balusters. The principal accommodation historically included thirteen bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two dressing rooms, together with additional bedrooms and bathrooms on the upper floor. The estate also includes a lodge, gardens and parkland. A winterbourne chalk stream known as Goose Beck can occasionally run through the southern grounds, and a bowl barrow in the parkland is a scheduled monument. The building was listed at Grade II* in 1953, recognising its special architectural and historic importance. During the twentieth century it acquired several institutional uses. In 1933 the Women's Section of the Royal British Legion received the hall as a war memorial and used it to train young women for domestic service. After the Second World War, Norfolk County Council acquired the property and operated it as a residential home for older people from 1945 until 1990. The home was closed because the building was considered too costly to maintain and operate. The council’s initial effort to sell the hall attracted no offers. In 1991 the property was sold for less than £1 million to Patricia Rawlings, later Baroness Rawlings, and her partner Paul Zuckerman. They converted it back into a private residence and undertook restoration work, including reopening blocked fireplaces, removing institutional grab rails, and exposing original oak and parquet flooring beneath later coverings. They also expanded the associated landholding by acquiring a neighbouring plot and recovered the walled kitchen garden. The hall has subsequently appeared on the country-house property market several times, including listings in 2012, 2019 and 2020. Press reports in 2012 speculated that actor Johnny Depp might purchase it, but no such acquisition occurred. Burnham Westgate Hall is principally significant as a surviving Soanian country house and a protected piece of Norfolk architectural heritage rather than as a commercial brand.
History
The present Burnham Westgate Hall developed from Polstede Hall, an earlier country house constructed in the 1750s by Matthew Brettingham for Pinckney Wilkinson. Brettingham’s design was influenced by the nearby Holkham Hall. Wilkinson later transferred the property to his daughter Anne when she married Thomas Pitt in 1783. Pitt belonged to the wider Pitt political family: he was the nephew of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and a cousin of William Pitt the Younger. In 1784 he became Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford. Pitt commissioned John Soane to remodel the house between 1783 and 1785. The project was one of Soane’s earliest major country-house commissions and came immediately before his work at Letton Hall. The architect reorganised the building in a restrained Palladian style and added stables and a lodge. He also introduced a split cantilevered staircase and created the piano nobile on the first floor. The interiors may have involved the Norwich builder and sculptor John de Carle, working from Soane’s designs and supplying at least one fireplace. Pitt regarded the completed residence as comparable to the Palazzo Pitti, while later architectural commentary has viewed it as a reduced-scale relative of Holkham Hall. After Thomas Pitt’s death in 1793, the property passed to his son, also Thomas. In 1804 it was inherited by Thomas’s daughter Anne, who had married William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville. The hall was sold in 1808 to Sir Mordaunt Martin, 4th Baronet. Martin added agricultural buildings and, following his death in 1815, the estate passed to his son Sir Roger Martin, 5th Baronet. Sir Roger died unmarried in 1854, after which the property moved through several local families. The Cook family sold most of the estate’s land in 1920, retaining the hall and approximately seven acres of gardens and grounds. In 1933 the Women's Section of the Royal British Legion received the hall as a war memorial. It was adapted for training young women as domestic servants, giving the building a new institutional role while retaining its historic structure. After the Second World War, Norfolk County Council acquired the property. The council used it as a residential home for older people from 1945 until 1990, when operating and maintenance costs led to its closure. During the council’s ownership, historic elements including eighteenth-century Italian wall paintings and the saloon chandelier were removed, and an attempted sale initially failed to attract a buyer. The hall returned to private ownership in 1991, when Patricia Rawlings and Paul Zuckerman purchased it for less than £1 million. Rawlings later became Baroness Rawlings. The couple restored the building as a domestic home, reopening blocked fireplaces, removing features associated with its former care-home use, and uncovering original oak and parquet floors. They enlarged the grounds by purchasing a neighbouring 28-acre plot and also reacquired the walled kitchen garden. The house and its estate have periodically been offered on the property market. In 2012, the hall, gardens and grounds were marketed at a reported £10 million, with press speculation linking the property to Johnny Depp; it was not sold in that offering. It reappeared in 2019 with a lower asking price and an overage structure, excluding portions of the wider estate such as the coach house and lodge. A further offering followed in 2020 at a still lower reported price. The property remains chiefly known for its architectural and historic value. Its Grade II* listing, granted in 1953, protects the building as an especially important historic structure, while a bowl barrow in the parkland has separate scheduled-monument protection.
- 2020
A further sale listing appears
[1]The house is marketed again with a further reduced reported asking price.
- 2019
The property is relisted with revised terms
[1]The hall returns to the market at a lower reported price, with an overage arrangement and exclusions from the wider estate.
- 2012
The hall is offered on the luxury property market
[1]The house and grounds are marketed for sale, prompting press speculation about a possible celebrity buyer.
- 1991
The hall returns to private residential use
[1]Patricia Rawlings and Paul Zuckerman acquire the property and restore it as a private home.
- 1990
The residential care use ends
[1]The old people's home closes because the property is considered too expensive to maintain and operate.
- 1953
The hall receives Grade II* listed status
[1]The building is protected as a Grade II* listed structure for its architectural and historic interest.
- 1945
Norfolk County Council begins operating an old people's home
[1]Following the Second World War, the property is acquired by the county council and adapted for residential care.
- 1933
The hall becomes a domestic-service training centre
[1]The Women's Section of the Royal British Legion receives the hall as a war memorial and uses it to train domestic servants.
- 1920
Most of the estate land is sold
[1]The Cook family disposes of most of the surrounding land while retaining the hall and a small core of grounds.
- 1808
The hall is sold to Sir Mordaunt Martin
[1]Sir Mordaunt Martin, 4th Baronet, acquires the property and adds agricultural buildings.
Products and positioning
A nationally important Georgian country house valued for its early John Soane architecture, surviving decorative interiors, landscaped setting and Grade II* listed status.
Historic country house
Burnham Westgate Hall
The main house is a three-storey Georgian building remodelled in Palladian style between 1783 and 1785. Its principal elevation has a seven-bay arrangement with a pedimented centre and flanking wings. The interiors retain plaster mouldings, historic fireplaces, rococo carving, enfiladed reception rooms and an Imperial staircase associated with John Soane. The property has historically contained thirteen bedrooms and extensive reception and service spaces.
Historic estate and gardens
Burnham Westgate Hall grounds
The estate includes gardens, parkland, a lodge and a former walled kitchen garden. Goose Beck, a winterbourne chalk stream, can occasionally pass through the southern part of the grounds. The parkland also contains a scheduled bowl barrow, adding archaeological importance to the designed and agricultural landscape.
Brand decisions
2019
Relisting with a lower asking price and overage termsStrategyBackground
The hall was returned to the property market after an earlier offering had not resulted in a sale.
Action taken
The property was marketed at a reduced reported price with an overage arrangement, while some associated buildings and land were excluded.
Aftermath
The hall was offered again in 2020 at a further reduced reported price.
Reported asking price. £3.8 million plus overage (2019)
1991
Conversion from institutional use to private residenceStrategyBackground
After the closure of the county council’s residential home, the hall was acquired by Patricia Rawlings and Paul Zuckerman.
Action taken
The new owners restored the building for domestic occupation, reopening fireplaces, removing care-home fittings and exposing historic flooring.
Aftermath
The property returned to use as a private country house and its grounds were expanded through additional acquisitions.
Purchase price. Less than £1 million (1991)
Recent events
- 2020
Burnham Westgate Hall is marketed again[1]
Pricing
The historic house was offered for sale again, with a further reduction in the reported asking price.
- 2019
The property returns to the market with a reduced asking price[1]
Pricing
Burnham Westgate Hall was relisted with a reduced asking price and an overage arrangement, while parts of the wider property holding were excluded from the offering.
- 2012
Burnham Westgate Hall is listed for sale[1]
Other
The hall and its surrounding gardens and grounds were marketed for sale. Contemporary reporting also speculated that Johnny Depp might be interested in the property, but the proposed purchase did not proceed.
Sources2 sources
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