Raynham Hall

After a false start in 1619 and the accumulation on site of a large quantity of Ketton stone in 1621[1] it was rebegun in 1622, and by the time of Sir Roger Townshend's death in 1637 it was substantially complete, though apparently some rooms had not been fitted out, for when the architect Sir Roger Pratt saw it a few years after Townshend's death, he recalled later Not long after it was built...

"[10] Later extensions and interiors were designed for the 2nd Viscount Townshend by William Kent, who brought details of its frontispiece on the North Front more closely in line with the manner of Inigo Jones, whose style formed the pattern for Palladianism in Britain.

Working at Raynham from 1725 to 1732, Kent added the north wing to Raynham and decorated the interior, where much of Kent's finest work can be seen, especially in the elaborately carved architectural chimneypieces,[11][12] the architectural doorcases and the painted staircase imitating niches and sculpture in trompe-l'œil and the painted ceiling imitating mosaic in the 'Belisarius' Room.

The impressive and beautiful ceiling of the Marble Hall (completed 1730) with its motif of Lord Townshend's coat-of-arms was sometimes attributed in the 19th century to Inigo Jones himself.

Hanging beside his lovely black and white marble chimney-piece in the Princess' Room is a painting which is believed to be a preliminary sketch for the famous van Dyck portrait "Children of Charles I."

The most famous and valuable was "Belisarius" by Salvator Rosa, which was presented to the 2nd Viscount Townshend by King Frederick William I of Prussia.