Melton Constable
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melton Constable is a village (population 518)[1] in the English county of Norfolk.
Melton Constable sits on fairly high ground a little to the west of Holt. It is a bustling village with many amenities for visitors to enjoy.
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[edit] Railway
Melton Constable reached its heyday about 1911; in the census of that year[2] it had a population of 1,157. It was a new town built in 1880s at the junction of four railway lines, which came from Cromer, North Walsham, King's Lynn and Norwich and linked Norfolk to the Midlands. A station with a platform 800 feet long was constructed with a specially-appointed waiting room for Lord Hastings, the local squire. The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway's main workshops and factory were also situated in the village, helping to give it the character of a rural industrialised village (rather similar to Woodford Halse in Northamptonshire). Between 1959 and 1964 British Railways closed the lines and withdrew both passenger and goods services from Melton Constable, which resulted in the slow decline of the village; it now lies stranded in the middle of a vast agricultural area which uses other forms of transport. In 1971 the station was demolished and the works were converted into an industrial estate.
The railways may eventually return to Melton Constable as part of the Norfolk Orbital Railway which would have a station there.
[edit] Hall
Melton Constable Hall is regarded as the finest specimen of the Christopher Wren style of house. The house was re-modelled and extended by Sir Jacob Astley between 1664 and 1670. It has some fine plaster ceilings dated 1687, probably fashioned by Edward Goudge. The core of the house is Elizabethan.
Between the church and the hall there stands a tower known as Belle Vue, which has a view of Norwich and the sea.
Belle Vue is in fact in Briningham, some two miles (three kilometres) from the Hall and not between the Hall and the church in Melton Park, although it could just be described as between the Hall and St Peter's Church in Swanton Novers. It was a smock-mill was built by Sir Jacob Astley, 1st Baronet, of Melton Constable Hall in 1721. The mill was not much used. Sir Edward Astley, the 4th Baronet, replaced the wooden tower with a brick one c.1775. The new tower was built over the existing three-storey brick, octagonal base, is the only one of its type in the county and is the oldest base in the county. It fell into dereliction but has now been restored and is a residence.
[edit] Park
Melton Constable Park was designed by Capability Brown in 1764-69; it has a church, a temple and various artistic follies. The church, which is small and unusual, nestles under trees (yews, firs and oaks) and can be reached by a drive lined with rhododendrons. It contains Norman work and many memorials to the Astley family who bear the title Lord Hastings. Sir Jacob Astley fought in the English Civil War and his prayer is still quoted by many: 'Lord, I shall be very busy this day. I may forget Thee but do Thou not forget me.'
The film The Go Between was filmed here.
Over the years some local people have been concerned about the state of the hall and its surrounding buildings. Parts of it are now very run down. A recent article in the local newspaper, the Eastern Daily Press, had some details of the condition it is in and gave information about the business dealings of the owner.
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