NOSTALGIA: Dalham Hall – from the Spanton Jarman collection

This three-storey building was built in 1701 for Simon Patrick, Bishop of Ely.

The house was subsequently owned by the Afleck family for almost 300 years. In 1901 the estate was sold to Cecil Rhodes, but his untimely death meant he never actually lived there, and it was eventually sold to Lord Milford in 1927. Three generations of the Phillips family then made it their home. In 1955 the third storey was lost during a fire and never replaced. The house is now owned by one of the world’s wealthiest men, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid at Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.

-- This picture is part of a remarkable collection of 4,000 photographs in the care of Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society which offers a glimpse into the town’s history.

Taken by two families of professional photographers, the Spantons and the Jarmans, the images span a period from the 1860s through to the outbreak of World War Two. The fragile glass plate negatives were donated to the society in 1997 and in recent years many of these have been ‘digitised’ thanks to a Lottery grant and donations. They can be viewed at www.burypastandpresent.org.uk where you can also find details about membership and the group’s programme of events and lectures. The Spanton-Jarman collection is held at the Bury St Edmunds branch of the Suffolk Record Office. For more details about the Record Office, including its programme of talks and courses, visit www.suffolkarchives.co.uk.