Local historian Stephen Poulter recounts the challenges he faced when tasked with unearthing the history of a spacious Victorian villa on the Suffolk bank of the Waveney River which was totally destroyed by fire over a century ago. Hell outline the techniques used and manuscripts investigated which helped trace the ownership of the original Manor House from its acquisition by the mighty De La Poles in 14th century, through two centuries of ownership by a wealthy gentry dynasty one of whom was immortalised by Gainsborough to the expansion and subsequent alterations made by its two Victorian owners. Some of the original research documents will be available to view at the archive rummage.