That day featured a number of local groups and societies - one of which had details of an historic area of the town that I had never heard of despite living within a couple of miles and regularly visiting the beautiful market town.
This area was known as Moot Hill and I made a mental note to try and find it one day and then forgot all about it. Every Monday I go for a walk with cousin Belinda and we share an interest in local history.
Yesterday, we decided because of the heat to have a shorter walk than usual and to keep mainly to the shady woodland at the back of Kett's Park. I had been there before but always kept to the carved out path and the small woodland area to the left as you walk away from Wymondham. Today we ventured to the right and found some outstanding woodlands and some pretty steep terrain.
Moot Hill is in the Gristlewood area of Wymondham - something else I had never hear of. It appears that there are earthwork remains and the site is designated as a scheduled monument which is protected by law. At some time there was a timber castle which I find really fascinating.
It is thought that the Motte was built by the D'Albini family sometime between 1088 and 1139. The feature is over 160 metres by 120 metres with a large bank and water filled ditch. The area also features water filled pits and ponds, lots of massive and very old trees and one area that gives the impression of being a petrified forest.
Many years ago, the area was part of the Stanfield Estate and a gold ring belonging to Katherine Bigot, wife of Roger Fitz-Ortet who owned Stanfield Manor in 1306 was also recovered from the area.
William d'Albiny came to England with William the Conquerer and acquired considerable tracts of land. He went on to become the founder of Wymondham Abbey
The manor of Stanfield Hall belonged to the Earl Warren in the time of William the Conqueror. The first reference to Stanfield Hall was in 1249 when Richard Curson, Prior of Wymondham, had his house and chapel there.
Numerous families owned it in the subsequent centuries including the Curson, de Mouton and de Salles. Then came the Appleyard family and from 1530 to 1546 it was the home of Sir John and Dame Elizabeth Robsart whose only child Amy Robsart became the wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. She was to become the ill-fated wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. She died in what many felt were suspicious circumstances after falling down a flight of stairs.
The Hall was subsequently owned by James Altham, Edward Flowerdew, Lord Thomas Richardson, William Jermy and many more. In 1792 the hall was rebuilt by the Rev George Preston with bricks from Holkham. The re-building took five years and thereafter changed hands on numerous occasions.
A full history of the hall is available on the internet, but by the end of the Second World War the hall was in a bad state of repair and was completely re-furbished by Dr Harold Hudson. In 2004 Stanfield Hall and estate was put on the market for £1.5 million
The Hall was the scene of an infamous double murder that shocked Victorian England. On the night of 28th November 1848, Isaac Jermy left the Hall to take the evening air after a dinner party. He was ambushed and shot by a masked man, who then proceeded to shoot Isaac's son, his wife, and a maid. Isaac and his son were killed, and the two women were badly injured. James Blomfield Rush was arrested and put on trial in Norwich. During his trial Rush defended himself, and his closing speech to the jury lasted 14 hours. The jury took just ten minutes to find him guilty of murder, and he was hanged at Norwich Castle on 21st April 1849. Between 12,000 and 20,000 people attended his execution, and special train services were run from London to Norwich for the occasion. Charles Dickens observed that it was 'a grand place for a scoundrel's exit'.
The photographs with this blog were taken during a wander around the Moot Hill area of Wymondham yesterday.