Thorpe Hall (Thorpe-le-Soken)

The Thorpe Manor estate belonged to the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.^[1] In 1723 it was bought by Stephen Martin who assumed the name and arms of Leake upon inheriting an estate from Admiral Sir John Leake; it remained in the Leake family – the most recent manor house was built between 1822 and 1825 for John Martin Leake – until 1913 when it was bought by Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy whose wife, Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy, laid out the gardens.^[1] Viscount Byng died at Thorpe Hall in 1935.^[2]

It was acquired by the Ministry of Defence at the start of World War II and then became the Lady Nelson Convalescent Home for employees of English Electric in 1951.^[1]

It was sold to the Ryan Group in 1988 and to Tangram Leisure in 2000.^[1] Tangram Leisure demolished the manor and replaced it with a residential spa which was completed in December 2010.^[3] Tangram Leisure went into administration in 2012.^[4]

51°51′08″N 1°10′07″E / 51.8522°N 1.1686°E / 51.8522; 1.1686