Woolverstone Hall

Woolverstone Hall is a large country house, now in use as a school, located 5 miles south of the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It is set in 80 acres on the banks of the River Orwell. Built in 1776 for William Berners by the architect John Johnson of Leicestershire, it is an outstanding example of English Palladian architecture and is a Grade I listed building while associated buildings are Grade II. In the 1950s, it housed Woolverstone Hall School, a boarding school operated by London County Council .

It has been speculated that a Viking chieftain named Wulf sacrificed a native villager on a glacial monolithic stone, giving rise to the name Wulf's stone. Domesday Book recorded two manors in the area which were merged in the 13th century and presided over by a succession of families until 1773 when it was purchased for £14,000 by William Berners . William Berners owned Berners Street in London, which became known later for the Berners Street Hoax. He erected Woolverstone Hall in 1776. A 96 feet high obelisk was erected in 1793 to William's memory by his son, Charles Berners , High Sheriff of Suffolk, which was damaged and demolished during World War II. In 1823, alterations and additions were done by Thomas Hoppe, including side wings.

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