Sunday, 13th August, was the 250th anniversary of William Berners purchasing the Manor and Advowson of Woolverstone. The Hall, grounds of around 200 acres, plus a 150 acre farm, were sold by Messrs Langfords at 1.00 pm at the Great Plazza, Covent Garden. The Ipswich Journal, 21st August, reported that Wm Berners Esq. paid £1440 at the auction. He had probably been living at Woolverstone as a tenant for the much of the previous 30 years and had already bought further land in the area. At the beginning of July 2023, Woolverstone Parish Council and Friends of Woolverstone mounted an exhibition in Berners Hall to mark this anniversary. It was attended by over 200 people. The exhibition attempted to bring together an overview of the Berners family and their stewardship of Woolverstone over those 250 years. We had extrememly postive feedback. We were also able to curate over 90 images, some which hadn't been widely seen. On September 10th, a short book, "The Berners Family of Woolverstone", will become available to buy. The book brings together the majority of the information from exhibition, charting the history of the Berners family of Woolverstone from 1600 -1937. If you would like to pre-order one, please get in touch. As well as the two talks and the exhibition, as part of this anniversary year we have produced a heritage trail map for Woolverstone, taking in many of the 18 listed buildings in the village. Interest has already been voiced by the AONB. These walks will be followed, later in the year, by a form of blue plaque providing information about various buildings. Woolverstone Hall Heritage Day, Sunday 10th September, will reprise the information and images from the exhibition, if you missed it the first time round.
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