Discover East Anglia’s hidden gems

If you’ve ever spotted a fabulous manor house and longed to see inside, or caught a glimpse of an imposing mansion and wondered who lives there, an Invitation to View tour can unlock the doors of some of these amazing private homes. Not only will the owners show you round and share some family secrets, but you’ll also be treated to tea and cakes. Here is a taster of the many tours on offer.

In Cambridgeshire, Quy Hall (pronounced Kwai), has unusual striped brickwork and decorative Dutch gabling, while inside, the three main reception rooms are highly decorated with mural paintings. It remains a private family home, so this is a rare chance to peek behind the curtain. Further north, near Huntingdon, Lord and Lady de Ramsey welcome visitors to Abbots Ripton Hall and its stunning eight-acre gardens, featuring some 1,600 species of plants.

Go on tours of region’s historic houses

Grade I Clifton House, in the heart of King’s Lynn, is a family home with Tudor, Stuart and Georgian interiors, where you can climb the famous Elizabethan tower to enjoy the Jacobean murals and spectacular views. Elizabethan architecture is also on show south of Norwich at Kirstead Hall, an unspoilt E-plan house with attractive blue diaper-pattern brickwork and witchcraft symbols in the porch.

Mid-Suffolk is home to three secluded moated houses dating back to medieval times, all with beautiful gardens. Columbine Hall, near Stowmarket, houses an eclectic collection including ancestral portraits, while Crow’s Hall in Debenham has been sympathetically restored by its current owner. At nearby Bedfield Hall, the artist owner is an expert on apotropaic symbols, some of which can be seen in his house.

Visitors to Ingatestone Hall in Essex will be greeted by Lord Petre or his son during a special tour of this 16th-century manor house filled with furniture and memorabilia accumulated over the centuries. Nearby Braxted Park, a Queen Anne country house set in a 2,000-acre park, is known as ‘one of the jewels in the Essex landscape’ and only opens its doors for tours a few times each year. n To find out more about these, and many other, exclusive guided tours of fascinating private houses, visit historichouses.org/tours