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Frenze Hall (pronounced fi-renze) came to the Blennerhassett family in 1423 at the marriage of Ralph de Blenerhayset, Esquire to 14 year old heiress Joan de Lowdham, who inherited the manors of Loudham, Frenze & Kelvedon. At the time of the marriage Joan was already a widow, her first husband Thomas de Heveningham having died soon after marriage in 1422.
An isolated and picturesque corner of Norfolk, Frenze was for many years the principal seat of the Blennerhassett family in East Anglia. It was home to Sir Thomas Blenerhayset, Knt, Minister (senechal or principal household officer) to the 2nd & 3rd Dukes of Norfolk.
His descendant Samuel Blennerhassett Jr., Samuel's brother Edward Blennerhassett & others in 1636 jointly sold the manor of Frenze, including Frenze Hall, to Richard Nixon Sr (b.c1589, d.1666, bur. in Frenze church) who was patron of Frenze 1641.
Much of the medieval house remains, concealed within a brick facade. At the end of the 19th century Frenze Hall was the property of William Betts, owner of a local brickworks, who encased this historic and beautiful mediaeval timber-framed building with his own red brick. The house is listed as a building of historic or architectural interest (Grade II) and much of the original oak framed structure remains under the facade - an external inspection also reveals the brickwork of the chimneys to be much older. The right-hand end of Frenze hall is a separate self-contained cottage.
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