The house was the ancestral home of the L'Estrange family, resident from the time of Domesday until after World War II.

During the early 20th century, P. G. Wodehouse, a friend of Charles Le Strange, was a frequent visitor and the hall features in his novel Money for Nothing (1928) and his collection of short stories Very Good, Jeeves (1930).

[1] The accuracy of Dugdale's account of the family's early history has been questioned as it appears to derive from an English version of the French romance of Fulk FitzWarin.

[2] By the 15th century the family were established as significant local magnates, Hamon le Strange (1583-1654) undertaking the construction of the Jacobean wings of the hall between 1625 and 1640.

Henry L'Estrange Styleman Le Strange (1815-1862) founded the town of Hunstanton as a Victorian seaside resort.

[a][7] In the early 20th century, P. G. Wodehouse, a friend of Charles Le Strange, was a regular guest at the hall.

[b][10] Some critics have also suggested Hunstanton as the basis for Blandings Castle,[11] although other country houses have stronger claims.

[18] Nikolaus Pevsner and Bill Wilson, in their Norfolk 2: North-West and South volume of the Buildings of England series, note the involvement of Thomas Thorpe and William Edge in the Jacobean rebuilding.