Most of the current building facade dates from the mid-16th century, but the origins of Kentwell are much earlier, with references in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Kentwell has been the background location for numerous film and television productions, and, since 1979, has annually been the scene of Tudor and other period historical re-enactments, with weddings and other events.

The record in the Domesday Book survey, translated from the original Latin, reads: "In the time of King Edward the Confessor, Algar held Kanewella under Seward, a freeman of Meldon, as a manor containing two carucates of land with Soke.

Between the years 1252 and 1272, Kentwell Manor appears to have been granted by King Henry III to Sir William de Valence, who was killed in battle in France in 1296.

Kentwell passed to his niece, who married David Strabolgie, Earl of Athol; in 1333 he in turn conveyed the manor to Sir Robert Gower and his heirs.

He fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and died in 1446; he is buried in the Kentwell aisle in the nearby Holy Trinity Church where his effigy, in full armour, is displayed.

[6] The Cloptons also rebuilt the Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford and added numerous stained glass windows portraying the family with brasses to their deceased.

Robinson lost his life in 1683 jumping from a window in his chambers in the Temple district of London whilst trying to escape a fire.

There are Georgian features such as dentil cornices, fireplaces and doorways introduced during this period; and the mantlepiece in the Moat Bedroom, in the west wing, is decorated with the coat of arms of the Moore family.

[9] In 1823, Kentwell Hall was purchased by Robert Hart Logan, a Canadian of Scots descent who had made his fortune in the timber trade.

Hopper had recently been engaged by Sir William Parker to undertake work at neighbouring Melford Hall.

Logan favoured a style that embodied elements of English Jacobean, Scottish Baronial and Gothic, which can still be seen today.

The design of the ceiling, copied from a similar room at Audley End in Essex, features hammer beams and wall posts that are coloured to resemble oak but are in fact entirely constructed of plaster.

A Gothic-style heraldic fireplace and overmantel dominates the north side of the room, sculpted from Italian grey marble, depicting the coats of arms of the Clopton and Logan families.

[11] Hopper also undertook alterations to the Library and the Billiard Room in the east wing, including raising the ceiling heights by two feet.

Military units that passed through the camp included British airborne troops and elements of the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division prior to D-Day.

Re-enactors use Tudor speech patterns to converse with visitors to Kentwell Hall, which include large parties of schoolchildren.

This involves first-person interpretation designed to create the impression that the visitor has stepped back in time to the 16th century.

Particularly significant Tudor years have been portrayed several times, such as 1520 (Field of the Cloth of Gold), 1535 (Dissolution of the Monasteries), 1553 (Lady Jane Grey) 1578 (visit of Queen Elizabeth I to Suffolk) and 1588 (the Spanish Armada).

Over the years, it is estimated that more than half a million schoolchildren from as far afield as Japan have visited Kentwell Hall to experience the Tudor recreations.

The event was designed to recreate the look and feel of wartime Britain, with volunteers representing both military and civilian life.

It operates as a winding route which takes visitors through haunted house sets, woodland, ancient buildings and open farmland, with a cast of 250 actors portraying characters such as dolls, zombies and killer clowns.

[20] The Scaresville designers made extensive use of techniques used in classic stage magic, such as mirrors, trapdoors and the Pepper's Ghost illusion.

[23] In 2020 and 2021, uncertainties arising from UK government restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of Scaresville for those years.