Hunstanton
Hunstanton Hall, Norfolk. Photographer John Fielding
The Hunstanton Estate - A 900+ Year Legacy
Since Ralph fitz Herluin, the Grandfather of the le Strange Estate, Hunstanton, there have been approximately 35 Heirs of the Estate, and 32 generations of descendants to date. The le Strange name is spelt with a small ‘L’ and was handed down from Ralph fitz Herluin’s son-in-law, Roland le Strange who married Matilda le Brun, daughter of Ralph and Helewisa de Plaiz daughter of Hugh (Golda. Please note that around the beginning of the 1100’s second names (surnames) were starting to be used but they were descriptive nicknames as opposed to hereditary surnames. So Matilda’s descriptive second name (le Brun) suggests that she had brown eyes or hair. It is thought that Helewisa’s second name (de Plaiz) was a name that was used later by her descendants.
The ancestral home is said to have 14th century cores, however, as the original grandfather of the Family, Ralph fitz Herluin was also referred to as Ralph of Hunstanton, this is an important fact to take into account. Without a Manor House at Hunstanton, Ralph of Hunstanton would not have been referred to in this way. The current location of Hunstanton Hall is the flattest area nearest the Spring a mile away, making it perfect ground for a moated Medieval Manor house made from timber or stone. It was when his 5th Great-Grandson, Hamon le Strange (1289-1317) who undertook some building works in 1310 which provides us with 14th century phrase. Why would his ancestors not re-purpose any original Manor House foundations..?
Ralph fitz Herluin was Ralph (son of) Herluin, however, we do not know who Herluin was.
Ralph is named in Domesday Book 1086 as a landholder with two lands, one being very valuable. He is also named as Ralph de Hunstanton in a Castle Acre Charter which means that he was Ralph of Hunstanton and likely resided in a Manor House on the very spot that Hunstanton Hall is situated within the Estate today.
The Estate passed from Ralph fitz Herluin to his daughter Matilda le Brun and Roland le Strange, upon the death of Ralph’s two sons, Reginald and Simon, who both died without issue.
The Estate then passed to Matilda and Roland’s eldest son, John le Strange (I). It was their 4 male children: John le Strange (I), Hamon, Guy, Ralph who later emerge in Shropshire. These four le Strange Knights were stationed 200 miles west in Shropshire to Guard frontline posts against Wales, while at the same time, their Hunstanton farmlands continued ticking over.
Some say that the current Hunstanton Hall was built in 1310 without providing that background history beyond that. So it is likely that there was either a wooden or stone Manor House from Ralph’s time in 1086, for which the original foundations were repurposed evolving into what we see today. The Estate continues to be held by the le Strange Family however, the ancestral home, Hunstanton Hall was sold after WW2 in 1949 by Bernard le Strange (the 32nd Heir) to save the Estate from high taxation including Death Duties, under the Lloyd George Government.