Blickling Hall in Norfolk is one of the best-known Jacobean mansions. Its south (entrance) and east façades (Figs 3 and 4) are outstanding pieces of architecture of the period and the rich emblematic plasterwork of the long gallery ceiling is justly celebrated. The date of its commencement, 1619, is carved in a prominent place in the entrance courtyard, and even the name of its architect, Robert Lyming, has long been known, for in the parish registers of Blickling his death in 1628 is recorded with the words ‘architect and builder of Blickling Hall’.