Group Visits at Holkham Hall

Holkham is a special place where a stunning coastal landscape meets one of England’s great agricultural estates. At the heart of this thriving 25,000 acre estate on the north Norfolk coast, stands Holkham Hall, an elegant 18th century Palladian style house, based on designs by William Kent and built by Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. The house remains privately-owned and is the home to the Earls of Leicester.

The Marble Hall is a spectacular introduction to this imposing building, with its 50ft pressed plaster dome ceiling and walls of English alabaster, not marble as its name implies. Stairs lead to magnificent state rooms displaying superb collections of ancient statuary, original furniture, tapestries and paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Claude, Gaspar Poussin and Gainsborough.

New for 2017, our exhibition in the hall, titled ‘What the Butler Saw’, will see us delve into the fascinating archives at Holkham to take a look behind the scenes at the lives of the staff who have lived and worked here. Using unseen photographs and original uniforms, alongside historic documents, we will tell the personal experiences and colourful stories of the people who have helped to keep this great house running over the last 200 years to the present day. The exhibition is available to view during normal hall opening times and is included in standard admission.

Discover more with the Field to Fork Experience, which tells the story of Holkham’s unique farming history. Let our ‘talking tools’ tell you what they were used for; find out who puts the malt in Maltesers; discover why cow pats are so important; take your turn at milling flour; test your foody knowledge with our quick-fire table-top game; sit back and enjoy our beautiful ‘Holkham Year’ film; don those Holkham tweeds and Bowler hats and dress up as a Holkham gamekeeper – with smells to sniff, buttons to press and drawers to open you’ll really enjoy discovering farming without having to put your wellies on!

The house is surrounded by rolling parkland with opportunities to discover the wildlife and landscape with nature trails, cycle and boat hire on Holkham lake. Children can enjoy the exciting woodland adventure play area where there’s an amazing tree house, high level walkways, rope ladders and fun zip wire.

Visit the 18th century walled garden to the west of the hall to enjoy the peaceful and tranquil setting and see the ongoing restoration project to sensitively restore the 6 acres of gardens to its former glory. Your visit must include the Courtyard Café and Gift Shop, both showcasing the work and produce of local artisan suppliers.

GROUP TRAVEL FACILITIES:
Pre-booked groups of 15 or more people visiting Holkham are able to benefit from the following: A department to deal with your booking on a one-to-one basis; 20% discount off the advertised admission prices.; Free admission to the attraction(s) for the group organiser; Free admission to the attraction(s) for the coach driver; A voucher for the coach driver for complimentary refreshments in the café. Free parking for coaches.

SUGGESTED LENGTH OF VISIT: 3 to 4 hours.