Wolterton Hall, Norfolk, part I The former home of Keith Day and Peter Sheppard
MY house, of my own building, is not extremely large, nor little; is neither to be envied, nor despised. The disposition of the rooms is neither magnificent nor contemptible, but convenient.’ Thus did the parliamentarian and diplomat Horatio Walpole describe his seat at Wolterton in a letter dated May 29, 1745. ‘The situation is upon an eminence that commands a most agreeable prospect,’ he continued, ‘encompassed with… oaks, spanish chestnuts and beech… on the south a green carpet of the finest verdure gratifies the eye and gradually leads it into a more extensive plain. On one side a lake of living water catches and fills the sight… If this description pleases you, come, my dear friend, come and partake of the beauties from whence it is drawn.’
The creator of this idyllic retreat was born in 1678, one of 15 children in a Norfolk gentry family. Horace, as he was known, had the ambition and connections to secure a post as secretary to a British envoy to Spain in 1706 and his first parliamentary seat in 1710. It was, however, the remarkable political career of his elder brother, Robert—the)—that properly formed the foundation of his own. Robert inherited his family seat at Houghton, about 20 miles west of Wolterton, in 1700. Thereafter, he began to build his political career in close alliance with his neighbour (and brother-in-law from 1713), Charles, 2nd Viscount Townshend of Raynham Hall.
