Built by the Bedingfeld family in 1482 as a statement of power, Oxburgh and the family have endured turbulent times. Through religious persecution, Civil War devastation, near dereliction and threatened demolition, Oxburgh’s story is one of survival.

The Bedingfeld, later Paston-Bedingfeld Baronetcy, of Oxburgh in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created by Charles II of England in recompense for the family's losses in the Royalist cause during the Civil War and Interregnum years.[1] The Bedingfelds are said to descend from 'Ogerlis', a Norman, who, in 1100, held land at Bedingfield, Suffolk. His descendant, Edmund Bedingfeld, married Margaret (died 1446), daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Tuddenham (and sister and co-heir of her brother Sir Thomas Tuddenham, executed in 1462), bringing to her husband estates including the manor of Oxburgh, near Swaffham, Norfolk.

The Bedingfeld family at Oxburgh Hall were rising stars of the royal court in Tudor times, but when Sir Henry Bedingfeld refused to sign the Act of Uniformity in 1559 it meant the devout Catholic family were ostracised and persecuted - leading to the famous secret priest hole at Oxburgh Hall, which was constructed to help shelter Catholic clergy.

Oxburgh Hall is a moated country house in Oxborough, Norfolk, England. The hall was built for Sir Edmund Bedingfeld who obtained a licence to crenellate in 1482. The Bedingfelds gained the manor of Oxborough through marriage in the early 15th century, and the family has lived at the hall since its construction, although ownership passed to the National Trust in 1952. The house underwent extensive refurbishment in the mid 19th century under John Chessell Buckler and Augustus Pugin.

The Act of Uniformity 1558 (1 Eliz. 1. c. 2) was an act of the Parliament of England, passed in 1559,[d] to regularise prayer, divine worship and the administration of the sacraments in the Church of England. In so doing, it mandated worship according to the attached 1559 Book of Common Prayer. The act was part of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement in England instituted by Elizabeth I, who wanted to unify the church. Other acts concerned with this settlement were the Act of Supremacy 1558 (1 Eliz. 1. c. 1) and the Thirty-Nine Articles.

Sir John Paston (1444 – 28 August 1504), was the second son of John Paston and Margaret Mautby. He succeeded his elder brother, Sir John Paston, in 1479. He fought at Barnet and Stoke with John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, served as his deputy when Oxford was appointed Lord High Admiral of England, and was a member of the Earl's council. A number of his letters survive among the Paston Letters, a rich source of historical information about the lives of the English gentry of the period.

John Paston, born in 1444, probably at Geldeston, Norfolk, was the second son of John Paston and Margaret Mautby, daughter and heir of John Mautby of Mautby, Norfolk.[1] He had an elder brother, also named John, as well as three younger brothers, Edmund, Walter and William, and two sisters, Margery and Anne.

The sixth Baronet married Margaret Anne, daughter and heiress of Edward Paston. In 1830 he assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Paston. The eighth Baronet was a Major in the 3rd Battalion of the Liverpool Regiment, and served in the Second Boer War. The present Baronet is a co-heir to the ancient barony of Grandison, which has been in abeyance since 1375. Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, the noted officer of arms, is the 10th baronet.

The Oxburgh Hangings (1st floor)

The Oxburgh Hangings, on loan to the National Trust by the Victoria & Albert Museum, comprise of multiple embroidered panels set against a background of green velvet, forming three large hangings. They were created by Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick between 1569 and 1584, when Mary was in captivity on the orders of Elizabeth I. They came to Oxburgh through a marriage in 1761. Here you can admire the animal and floral designs of these rare and exquisite panels and explore the symbolism lurking beneath apparently innocent images.