Blickling

The village of Blickling is dominated by the magnificent house and grounds of Blickling Hall.  

Today the village itself consists of only a handful of dwellings and the Buckinghamshire Arms Inn. The parish does extend to some 10 miles and includes scattered farmhouses. Since the 17th century the village has been grouped around the Park gates and the mainly 15th century St Andrew's church.

Hobart House, once a rectory and subsequently a farmhouse is of interest. Beyond the small groupings and on the main road is the school building with its star-topped chimney and the school house of Norfolk flint. Whites 1845 Norfolk Directory states that Lady Suffield (2nd daughter of Hobart Earl of Buckinghamshire supported a school for poor children. The schoolhouse is dated 1867-68 and it is possible that a simple building preceded the present one.

Silvergate,a hamlet of estate cottages three quarters of a mile from Blickling village has a long terrace of thatched houses and a population of about 80.

Since the closure of the school the building has been used as a community centre for Blickling with Silvergate and three other villages. Many of the dwellings in Blickling and Silvergate are occupied by workers on the estate and others are on short lease from the National Trust. Still the fortunes of this small village relie on the great Blickling Hall.

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