| Sloley is a tiny village which lies five miles south
of North Walsham. In
May 1933 Sylvia Townsend Warner and her partner
Valentine Ackland were driving around Norfolk when they
discovered Frankfort Manor (now known as Old Sloley Hall)
up a quiet lane. The house, which has a thatched roof
and a Dutch gable, was for rent and the two literary
ladies leased it until November 1934.
Sloley Old Hall
Sloley Village Sign
The house and gardens provided them with the perfect
rural location in which to write and potter about.
Warner's The Cat's Cradle Book (1960) was
inspired by a family of cats that lived in the hall's
outbuildings. The book is a collection of short stories
seen from a cat's point of view. In her
autobiography For Sylvia Valentine Ackland
describes the house's attractions as follows:
|
Supported
by Norfolk Tourism