About the Business
Since the early 13th century, continuous sequences of quite prestigious timber- framed single residences have existed on this site. The first owner, Sir William de Bruyn, a neighboring manorial Lord, created the small Manor of Brook Street of some 150 acres centred on the hamlet, which lay alongside a lively brook and Roman Road. This estate was managed from the house, which was surrounded by a large rectangular moat. Succeeding generations of the de Bruyn family and the families of Tyrrell and Harleston maintained an interest in Brook Street until the mid 16th century.
In the late 15th century, a family named Roper farmed the Manor of Brook Street and Henry Roper greatly enhanced the moated house, which he called The Place. He became an important officer in the royal household of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII and it seems likely that both she and her husband were visitors to The Place.
Location & Hours
London Road
