Adjacent to the church is Norbury Manor and Hall, a Medieval Grade I listed building. The original medieval Manor House is a remarkable survival still attached to the later Hall. It was the senior seat of the Fitzherbert family from medieval times.
The Manor House was built of stone in the mid 13th century for William Fitzherbert and enlarged around 1300 by Sir Henry Fitzherbert. It still has many original features including the undercroft with the hall above on the upper floor, all still intact. There are also some Tudor additions.
Nicholas Fitzherbert acquired the freehold of the property in 1448 and the house was enlarged by his son Ralph, who built a Tudor Hall onto the Manor House and at right angles to it, at the end of the 15th century. This Hall was rebuilt in brick around 1680 retaining much of the Tudor panelling and stained glass.
Sir Thomas Fitzherbert married Anne Eyre, the heiress of Padley Manor, in the mid 16th century. They moved to Padley on her father’s death and Norbury fell into disuse. Sir John Fitzherbert supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War and was killed at Lichfield in 1649. His son William inherited Norbury in a ruinous state. Swynnerton Hall, in Staffordshire, also became his by marriage but had been badly damaged during the Civil War. With the choice of two possible homes he first decided to repair Norbury Hall. William’s son Basil Fitzherbert rebuilt Swynnerton and took up residence there and then continued the rebuild of Norbury as a lesser seat.
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