Kentwell was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, but the main block of the house was built in the late 15th century by John Clopton, and the wings and extra level added in the century that followed. It’s mostly Tudor in style but has later Georgian elements in the interior,added by the Moore family, who bought the house in 1782. When a fire in 1826 destroyed most of the interiors, the owner, Robert Logan, redecorated in a Scottish Baronial-Gothic style, most notably in the dining room, which has a Gothic-style heraldic fireplace copied from a medieval chimney piece in the Bishop’s Palace, Exeter. The house was sold in 1839 to the Starkie Bence family who both lived in the house and let it out to tenants before selling it to Patrick and Judith Phillips in 1971. They’ve opened the house to visitors and started to repair the parts that were falling apart. Inside, you’ll find tapestries, artefacts and a collection of Tudor portraits. 

The house is surrounded by a moat and sunken garden, which used to be a moat. The moat house, built in the 15th century, is where the dairy, bakery, brewhouse and stillroom are now. There's a walled garden with espaliered fruit trees from the 17th century, and the tall cedar trees you’ll see were planted in the 19th century. 

Kentwell Hall often hosts Tudor and Victorian ‘Living History Days’ in the grounds as well as regular seasonal events for Hallowe’en, Christmas and Easter.