The Nebb

The history of the Nebb certainly goes back to 1614, when it appears as Nabb Cottages on the estate plan prepared for Sir John Wentworth when he bought the Somerleyton estate. There was probably a house on this site for several decades before that.

Various opinions and conjectures about its history have been made over the years, and these are gathered together in the timeline document which may be of interest to you. .

The present owner moved into the Nebb in November 1960. The house had been empty for three years. The local farmer had asked Lord Somerleyton whether he might use it as a chicken house, but the estate preferred to demolish it in order to stop poachers living in it. I was allowed to rent it from the estate; I was offered half the house for 15s. a week, or all of it for a pound. The first quarter's rent receipt is on display, with Lord Somerleyton's signature across a twopenny stamp. (There was then a tax on receipts)
I worked in Lowestoft until 1963, but then had to find a new job and moved away. Since then it has been used as a holiday home. My family spent several summers here when the children were young, since it is such a glorious place where children can enjoy their childhood untrammeled by the constraints of life in more crowded communities.

A few years later, the roof needed extensive repairs, the estate was unwilling to do them, and agreed to sell the house to me. The roof timbers were replaced, and the roof reattached with Norfolk reed. The thatcher comes to inspect it every few years and has pronounced it as fine for at least another 20 years. Of course, the ridge has to be redone every 15 years or so; it was last done in 2008.

My policy over the years has been to respect the fabric of the house, to make as few changes as possible, and to do any changes which have to be made in a sensitive way. When I first moved in, of course, there was no mains water or sanitation, so the old larder had to be converted to a bathroom. There was no possibility of getting electricity, so I installed gas lighting which still works very satisfactorily. My wife did not like the separation of the two cottages, so they are now connected by a short passage alongside the chimney on the ground floor, and a door on the upper floor. My neighbour up the lane was a skilled woodworker, and he kindly built a number of bookshelves, and the magnificent purpose-built table in the games room. Apart from that, changes have been minimal.

The Nebb is surrounded by the area controlled by the Broads Authority, so is for practical purposes unlikely to be developed in any way. It is, perhaps surprisingly, not a listed building, but the Broads Authority would be unlikely to permit any development outside the existing footprint.