Oakbrook House's History

The building which is now known as the 'Oakbrook House' was purposely built as a school for Great Moulton in the 1800s. To mark the foundation of the school an Oak tree was planted (hence the name Oakbrook); this tree lasted until 2005 when a rot was discovered in its roots and the tree had to be cut down. The area is surrounded by oak trees and so the name Oakbrook is still relevant to the building today.

In the 1960s the school closed down and was subsequently sold privately to a builder and his wife, who converted it into a private residence under the name of 'The Oaks'. In 1989 an extension was completed in order to turn the Oaks into a residential care home which it ran as for several years.

1995 saw the closure of the Oaks as a residential home when it was changed to 'Oakbrook'. Oakbrook for the next half decade ran partially as a bed and breakfast, whilst large areas of the house were left unoccupied. In 2004 the proprietors decided to sell the property, now a staggering eleven bedrooms in size with an eight man lift going up the centre of the house. A potential buyer was the local council who planned to turn the property into a home for people from troubled backgrounds, this was met with much local opposition, and so it was that in October 2004 an offer was made by the Moss family with the intention of running Oakbrook as a full time guest house. The sale was completed on 20th April 2005.

To show that the property and the business were starting afresh the name was expanded to 'Oakbrook House, South Norfolk's Guest House'. During the following months the property underwent a severe refurbishment programme, the eight man lift was removed to enable access to the downstairs bedrooms. The number of bedrooms was increased to fourteen, with nine made available for paying guests (with ensuite facilities fitted into seven of these rooms). The exterior of the building was tidied up considerably, vast amounts of rubbish were cleared, the old school fence was replaced, and of course the old Oak tree was felled due to a rot in its roots.

Today South Norfolk's Guest House provides accommodation for holiday makers enjoying both weekend and mid-week breaks, relatives of local residents and business people seeking refuge from the city at the end of each day. In addition the guest house has received planning permission to provide meals for both residents and non-residents, allowing Oakbrook House to offer evening meals for parties, or a guaranteed meal for residents at the end of each day without having to trail over the Norfolk country side. The family run guest house looks forward to welcoming you to our home, and making your stay as comfortable as possible.

Please check availability and email us before booking: