Brome: Discover its architectural history and hotels

At the heart of Brome’s architectural history is Church of St Mary, whose medieval core, round tower and monuments point to different periods. Other highlights include timber-framed houses, a medieval moated site and the option of a weather-dependent hot air balloon ride. When looking for a hotel for a trip to Brome, you can consider architectural history and landscape views as different interests to help with your planning.

Church of St Mary and the moated site

Church of St Mary in Brome is a Grade II* listed parish church with a medieval core. Brome is home to one of Suffolk’s 38 round-tower churches. The upper part of the Norman round tower dates from 1875. Inside the church is a series of monuments to the Cornwallis family of Brome Hall. The church thus brings together architectural history and the connection to the Cornwallis family.

Immediately southeast of Church of St Mary is a medieval moated site, which is a well-preserved Scheduled Monument. Its deposits are thought to contain archaeological information about its medieval construction and use. Excavations at the moated site east of the church uncovered the remains of a hall measuring 80 × 35 feet, divided by timber supports. This hall is believed to have been the 12th-century Davillers manor house.

Brome Hall was the seat of the Cornwallis family and was probably a 16th-century replacement for an earlier manor house in the same immediate area. The presumed connection between the excavated hall and Davillers, together with the later building history of Brome Hall, provides different chronological reference points for the history of the area.

Timber framing and Neo-Gothic architecture

Rose Cottage is a timber-framed house dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. It is considered a small, two-cell hall house, and much of its timber framing survives. Church Farm in Brome is a 16th-century farm complex. The complex includes a 19th-century farmhouse and converted buildings. Both examples add timber framing and the development of a farmstead to the area’s architectural history.

The Oaksmere Hotel in Brome is a Grade II* listed country house with exceptional Victorian Neo-Gothic architecture. It includes work by Thomas Jeckyll. Today’s Oaksmere Hotel is considered a remarkably complete surviving example of this architecture; comparatively few changes have been made to its interior since the 1880s.

Hot air balloon ride and walk

The Oaksmere Hotel in Brome is the main launch site for hot air balloon rides in Suffolk. Flights are weather-dependent and offer views across the wide-open Suffolk countryside, the coast and the heathland. Landing can take place within a 20-mile radius of the launch site, so the landing location is not limited to a single fixed point.

“Billingford, Brome and Oakley” is listed as a walk. As route details can change, check the current route before including the walk in your plans. The buildings and archaeological history offer a place-focused experience, while the balloon ride provides a weather-dependent perspective on the landscape and coast. These different interests can help guide your plans for a trip to Brome and your search for a hotel.

Discover more destinations: Hollesley, Kirton, Long Green, Eye, Stanton, Brandon, Sudbourne, Debenham.

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