Today, Melford Hall is in the care of the National Trust and has been since 1960. For many years the house has been the home of the Hyde-Parker family; the family still live in a wing of house.
Originally it was a medieval hall, held by the abbots of nearby Bury St Edmunds. Much of what we see externally today dates from the 16th century.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Queen Mary granted the house to Sir William Cordell. The house then passed to Thomas and Mary Savage, through Sir William’s sister, however, the savages eventually sold it back into another male Cordell line.
In 1642, the house was attacked and damaged during the anti-Catholic Stour Valley Riots. More than a century later in 1786 the house was sold to Sir Harry Parker, 6th Baronet, he was the son of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet. In one of the rooms in the house there is a room displaying many pictures of naval battles reflecting the family’s naval connections.
From the 1890s, Beatrix Potter, who was a cousin of the family was a regular visitor. The rooms inside the house are a mix of architectural styles, reflecting the changes owners have made over the centuries. In 1942, a fire damaged part of a wing of the house resulting in a room having a mid-20th century appearance.
See other images of Melford Hall