Blicking Hall was once in the possession of the Boleyn family, and home to Sir Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and his wife, Elizabeth, between 1499 and 1505. It is presumed that their first two children Mary and George were born at Blickling Hall, along with several other Boleyn infants who did not live long. If the couple's most famous child, Anne, was born before 1505 (as one school of historical thought contends) then she too was born at Blickling. Other historians maintain that Anne was born after 1505, probably in 1507, and by that time Sir Thomas had moved to Hever Castle in Kent. Nonetheless, a statue and portrait of Anne Boleyn reside in Blickling Hall claiming "Anna Bolena hic nata 1507" (Anne Boleyn born here 1507).
The current Blickling Hall was built on the ruins of the old Boleyn property in the reign of James I, by the Hobarts. In 1616, Sir Henry Hobart Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and 1st Baronet bought Blickling from Robert Clere. The architect of Hatfield House, Robert Lyminge, is credited with the design of the current structure. The Lord Chief Justice married Dorothy, the daughter of Sir Robert Bell of Beaupre Hall, Outwell/Upwell, Norfolk, Speaker of the House of Commons 1572–1576. A grand display of heraldic material is present throughout the estate.
Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet SL (c. 1560 – 29 December 1625) of Blickling Hall, was an English judge and politician.
The son of Thomas Hobart and Audrey Hare, and Great grandson of Sir James Hobart, who had served as Attorney General during the reign of King Henry VII.
Sir Henry would further this lineal occupation and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn on 10 August 1575, and was later called to the Bar in 1584, and subsequently became governor of Lincoln's Inn in 1591.
Between 1588 and 1589, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for St Ives, for Yarmouth in 1597 and 1601, and for Norwich from 1604 to 1611.
Hobart was Steward of Norwich in 1595, made Serjeant from 1603 to 1606, and later served as Attorney for the Court of Wards in 1605 and Attorney General for England and Wales between 1606 and 1613. From 1613 to 1625, his abilities were further recognized and he was elevated to Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas.
Having been Lord Chancellor to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, he was also Chancellor and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to Charles, Prince of Wales.
He was conferred the honor of Knighthood in 1603, and was made Baronet, of Intwood in the County of Norfolk on 11 May 1611.
Sir Henry Hobart, was respected for his knowledge and sophistication in matters of estate management. He successfully acquired a fair amount of Norfolk property, including the estates of Intwood in 1596 and Blickling in 1616, where he was buried on 4 January 1625.
On 21 April 1590, he married Dorothy Bell, the daughter of Sir Robert Bell, in Blickling, Norfolk. They had twelve sons including John Hobart and four daughters.
Sir Henry is also one of our great grandfathers from our Hubbard ancestry.
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