View of the hall conservatory taken from near the outdoor pool
Taken 10/09/06
Photo by Emma Laws

Shrubland Hall in Suffolk was open for nearly 40 years as a high class Health Clinic but sadly closed on the 2nd April 2006 due to the owner Lord de Saumarez being forced to sell his estate to settle death duties (tax) as a result of the death of his mother.

A staggering 60,000 guests have stayed at Shrubland Hall Clinic over the last forty years and around 2000 members of staff have worked there.

ShrublandRevisited.co.uk is a website for all guests and staff that have known and loved this unique estate. We are collecting 'memories' and photographs of Shrubland Estate and we need you to get involved! Find out how to contribute...

PLEASE NOTE:
This site is not in any way connected to the Shrubland Hall Clinic or the de Saumarez family, we have no contact with the the de Saumarez family. We are unable to answer questions about the clinic or his Lordship's family, bar any information provided by our visitors that is already on this website. Sorry!
We are also not connected in any way with the current (new) owners of of Shrubland Hall and can't answer any questions about the future of the hall or gardens!

Shrubland Hall Updates

15th January 2010
Primelocation.com have reported on the sale of Shrublands with the headline 'Whatever happened to: Roddy Llewellyn’s childhood haunt?'

8th January 2010
Country Life magazine has reported the sale of both the hall and the estate at Shrubland - http://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/article/437508/Suffolk-estate-sold.html

4th December 2009
Our local paper the 'Evening Star' has reported on the sale of Shrubland Hall today. There's no more news on what the 'business use' of the hall might be. You can read the article here - http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=
ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemi
d=IPED03%20Dec%202009%2022%3A49%3A02%3A320

29th November 2009
BUYER FOUND! After years of buyer rumours (some crazier than others) our local BBC evening news program has reported that a buyer has been found for Shrubland Hall. At this stage that's really all we know, we'll let you know as soon as we have any more information. In the meantime it's worth watching the BBC news report as it shows just what great condition the gardens are still in, it's very exciting to think there's now a chance they could be restored to their former glory. We also wait with baited breath to find out what use will be made of the glorious hall at the centre of the estate. You can watch the news article here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8383111.stm

September 2009
Still nothing substantial to report, just more mad rumours. We just wanted to post to let you know we're still here!

5th January 2008
No news to report, I just wanted to post on the website to let you know we're still on the ball, as soon as we know what's happening with the sale we'll pass on the information to our mailing list!

28th November 2007
The last year and a half has been rife with rumours about who might buy the Shrubland Estate. Some potential buyers have been downright ludicrous rumours (Tom Cruz, Madona etc) and some have seemed more plausable. We have now had quite a few people visit this website and have had our first submission for our 'Shrubland Memories' section. There is some fairly exciting (and plausable!) information on a potential buyer buzzing around at the moment. We'll let you know what's going on as soon as we know it's definately happening and not another near miss or rumour.

7th April 2006
I have just had an email from Lord de Saumarez (Eric) imparting his enthusiasm for this site (which is nice) and giving me a little tale to pass onto you all. On the night of the end of Shrubland party Sotheby's were at the Sorrel Horse waiting to come up to the Hall, and when they arrived told Eric that there was a wedding reception at the Horse. Eric told them "no, it is our ex staff" , They said it was definatly a wedding, as even the Vicar was there!!

6th April 2006
The sale of Shrubland Hall and estate was announced today in the local paper. The East Anglian Daily Times ran a story reporting that the estate has been placed on the market for £23m and has run with the quote "the most important sale in East Anglia for a generation"
Read the full story on the EADT website...

2nd April 2006
Today saw the official close of the clinic at Shrubland hall. Eric (Lord de Saumarez) invited staff old and new to tip a glass of champagne to celebrate the last forty years. Lord de Saumarez made a great speech thanking everyone for their work over the last forty years and drew on the positive impact that this wonderful estate has had on the lives of some 60,000 guests and 2000 staff since the original launch in 1966. He also lamented that the clinic was only one month off reaching it's 40th birthday. The short speech was light and informal and Eric joked about the various events that made that initial launch of the clinic all the more stressful back in 1966. Another positive point made during this speech was that statistically Shrubland hall lasted twice as long as the average twenty years that most businesses operate for.
Afterwards most of the people present at the hall headed down the drive to the Sorrel Horse for a buffet and large bar tab that was generously donated by various guests. It should be noted that three of the Gardening Staff (Ben, Emma and Terry) decided to attend both functions in full fancy dress. Ben arrived at the hall as Homer Simpson, Terry arrived as a Vicar and Emma lightened everyone's mood by dressing as a punked up fairy!
I'm sure once this site is launched photos of that great night won't take long to materialise!