Elveden Hall

The date of the original house's construction is unknown but the estate is known to have been anciently appropriated by Bury St Edmunds Abbey.

In 1849, the Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last true ruler of the Sikh Empire and owner of the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond was exiled to England, having been removed from his kingdom by the British East India Company.

He also augmented the building with an aviary where exotic birds such as golden pheasant, Icelandic gyrfalcons, parrots, peafowl and buzzards were kept.

Elveden Hall played host to a wide range of sporting activities but none rivalled the Maharajah's passion for shooting.

The 1st Earl of Iveagh, of the Guinness brewing family, purchased the Elveden Estate in 1894 from the executors of the will of the Maharajah Duleep Singh following his death in 1893.