Hoveton Hall Estate (Norfolk, England)

Hoveton Hall Gardens, Norfolk

Hoveton Hall Gardens in Norfolk offer a smaller, more intimate experience than nearby Houghton Hall, with a distinctly personal feel shaped by generations of owners. From the iconic Spider Wall Garden and its 1936 wrought‑iron gate to the peaceful Kitchen Garden and woodland walk, the feel here is more informal.

I don’t recall seeing the main Regency‑style house (1809–12). The gardens sit away from it, and we parked along a dirt road beside a large field. Even after checking a map, I’m still not sure how I missed the house—but we were here for the gardens anyway.

Hoveton Hall has been in the Buxton family since 1946. Noted landscape designer Humphrey Repton proposed plans for the layout, approaches and water features. Later, owner Christabell Burroughs transformed the grounds, creating the beloved Spider Wall Garden. The wrought‑iron spider gate, designed in 1936 by Randolph Burroughs, is one of the estate’s most photographed features.

The Spider Wall Garden

Here I am with tour organizer Bruce Wakefield (middle) and his partner Jerry (far left).

Inside the gate, the large walled garden has planting beds enclosed by low clipped boxwood hedges, in the design of a web. The gardener's cottage (seen in the above photo) faces the garden.

In the center of the Spider Garden is a spider web pebble mosaic, designed by Alan Gray of East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens (a future post on that garden is coming up later).

The Walled Kitchen Garden

Right next door to the Spider Garden, an archway leads to another walled garden, The Kitchen Garden. 

 

Ashmanhaugh Wood & Kidney Lake

Leaving the Spider Garden and the Kitchen Garden, we come to a much shadier area with a woodland walk ("Ashmanhaugh Wood"), bordered by hydrangeas. This leads to a man-made lake called "Kidney Lake". 

  

This area is filled with mature rhododendron, weeping willow, grasses, and massive gunnera.

Hoveton Hall was definitely not on the grand scale as Houghton Hall, but its charm lies in its intimacy. If you are in the Norfolk area, I would highly recommend it.

(Visited June 26, 2026)

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy