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17th century. I have recently seen at Worth Church, in Sussex, a West Gallery dated 1610 with identical massive balusters.

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The landing leads to the haunted chamber, now known as the Brampton" room. It has an oak floor, the walls are oak-studded, like the Hall, and in the corner to the right of the window is a small blocked-up doorway, whose purpose will be shown later, but which, if opened out now, would lead into the well of the staircase. The most interesting feature of this room is the fireplace, which has only recently been found. It is very similar in design to that in the great parlour, but differs in having the spandrils merely indicated by lines on the plaster and not cut.

All three large fireplaces are, in the usual Norfolk fashion, made of moulded bricks covered with a strong plaster or cement; stone only being found in very early or very important houses. The initials on the great parlour fireplace, by the way, are modelled in the plaster itself. The wall round the fireplace is panelled in oak, circa 1620, and to the left of it is a dark closet which once contained a private staircase leading to the attic above, of which only the two top steps remain. It is said that the ghost so disturbed the inhabitants of the room by constantly ascending this staircase that it had to be removed!

At the other end of the landing is a lobby with three doors; that in the centre leads to the "Best" Room, so named after the Bests who were Lords here from about 1680 to 1719. Except for a few oak studs, there is nothing of interest visible, but some future antiquary would, no doubt, be well repaid by opening out two high and small windows on either side of the present one, and also the large fireplace, all of which obviously exist. The

window to the left of the fireplace was only discovered and restored a few years ago. The left doorway of the lobby gives into a long closet which was partitioned off the "Best" Room some long time ago. At the end of it is the small mullioned window with wooden bars that was discovered under the outer plaster, and to the left of this, exactly opposite to the little blocked-up doorway of the Brampton Room, is another in the same condition. That there was once communication between

these is clear-either by a passage or a room- -for above the present staircase window (circa 1680) can be seen a mullioned window of three lights, plastered up, which would have given light to such.

Taking the door to the right of the lobby, we enter the Drawing-room. The timber work of the walls here is particularly good, especially that to the left of the door. The oak is massive and the design so well balanced, that possibly, it was always intended to be seen. Here again, the fireplace has been closed up and a modern one inserted.

This chamber is a passage room, and the door from it takes one to a "Gallery" 31 ft. by 5 ft. The walls are like those already described and, on the left, are three very solid projecting timbers, part of the main construction of the house. The floor is of oak, as are the mullions of the four windows; of these the two larger are transomed, whilst the smaller ones, only recently unplastered, are plain. In this case, the wooden stanchions had been cut off, flush with the sills and heads, before they were closed up.

On the right of this passage are two small rooms with walls constructed of wooden struts and studs. H.B.

The further and larger of these has 1613 deeply,

R.B.

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if roughly, carved on one

the timbers, which

is of elm, as, indeed, are many in the inner walls of this part of the house. H. B. would, of course, fit for Henry Brampton-the same Henry whose initials with those of his mother, have already been recorded twicebut who was R. B.? At first I thought the R., which had been somewhat cut into, had been intended for a K., and that it stood for Katherine the wife of Henry Brampton; but I find that she died and was buried at Blo' Norton in 1612. I therefore consider that these initials are, probably, merely the work of two of the younger sons of Henry Brampton, viz., Henry and Robert, who would have been respectively twenty-one and eighteen in the year the letters were cut.

Beyond this room is the upper portion of the original staircase, constructed with solid oak treads, which leads to the attics and, at the end of the gallery, is the "Browne" Room. Part of it has been at some time cut off and now forms a bath-room.

Beyond this, again, is the "Brome" Room, from all appearances the oldest in the house, with oak flooring and two small mullioned windows, having a larger and later one between. To the left of it is a double closet, once a passage, with a blocked door between it and the bath-room and, originally, having a spiral staircase at. the further end leading down to the offices. This is proved by the tiny windows and apertures in the brickwork of this, the south corner of the house. All the walls of this part are, as usual, heavily studded with oak, and in the room two wide bracket-like beams support the ceiling-or rather the floor above-on either side of the chimney. The door, as are most of those at this end of the house, is made of overlapping oak boards of the 16th century.

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