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Blooming Brundall
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This map of Brundall Gardens is from Frederick Holmes Cooper's time and shows the landing stage from the river
and the suggested tour round the estate with arrows pointing the way.
In 1881 Dr Michael Beverley bought a lovely area of land with a mere known locally as Little Switzerland because of its lovely wooded slopes.
Then began many years of dedicated work to transform it into a magnificent garden, visited and admired by thousands of people.
It is in the western end of Brundall with the church on the eastern boundary.
Then began many years of dedicated work to transform it into a magnificent garden, visited and admired by thousands of people.
It is in the western end of Brundall with the church on the eastern boundary.
Frederick Holmes Cooper
In about 1917, cinema magnate Frederick Holmes Cooper acquired the 120 acre estate. The family moved into The Log House, a large cabin with a thatched roof built by Dr Beverley. However, only eighteen months later The Log House caught fire and the fire brigade took twelve hours to extinguish it.
'I will not reside in a wooden house again as long as I live. Pitch pine might be all very well for a coffin or for pews in church - my preference for the future will lie in bricks and mortar' said Frederick Holmes Cooper. He was true to his word and project-managed the building of a magnificent three-storey house on the site of The Log Cabin which he called Redclyffe House. (See photo above).
His cinema career went from strength to strength but in 1930 he embarked on some expensive ventures which were to misfire. He planned to convert The Theatre Royal in Great Yarmouth and the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft into cinemas with a sound system which involved borrowing a lot of money.
He economic crisis provoked by the Great Depression caused the banks to foreclose on the loans and he was unable to repay. He decided to rent out Redclyffe House in 1933 and move away from the area.
(Text by Caroline Seville, his grand-daughter.)
In 1969 Redclyffe House burnt down to be replaced by yet another house, this time called Redcliffe House (with an 'i').
The new house wasn't built for quite a few years, but eventually Alan and Linda Jones built it on the site of the old Log Cabin which, as before, has magnificent views over the Yare valley.
The house has since changed hands.
'I will not reside in a wooden house again as long as I live. Pitch pine might be all very well for a coffin or for pews in church - my preference for the future will lie in bricks and mortar' said Frederick Holmes Cooper. He was true to his word and project-managed the building of a magnificent three-storey house on the site of The Log Cabin which he called Redclyffe House. (See photo above).
His cinema career went from strength to strength but in 1930 he embarked on some expensive ventures which were to misfire. He planned to convert The Theatre Royal in Great Yarmouth and the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft into cinemas with a sound system which involved borrowing a lot of money.
He economic crisis provoked by the Great Depression caused the banks to foreclose on the loans and he was unable to repay. He decided to rent out Redclyffe House in 1933 and move away from the area.
(Text by Caroline Seville, his grand-daughter.)
In 1969 Redclyffe House burnt down to be replaced by yet another house, this time called Redcliffe House (with an 'i').
The new house wasn't built for quite a few years, but eventually Alan and Linda Jones built it on the site of the old Log Cabin which, as before, has magnificent views over the Yare valley.
The house has since changed hands.
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