King John's Thorn

KJT (as friends know it) is a pair of cottages that date from the mid-1700s, we guess. The oldest, South Cottage (right, in the picture) was a one-up, one-down cottage, probably with a thatched roof if the pitch is anything to go by.

The triple window in the centre was a doorway into a 'penny a day' school room in the 1800s. We use it as a study/office linked into North Cottage (left).

KJT takes its name from Hethel Old Thorn, the smallest Norfolk Wildlife Trust site, thought to be old enough for it to be a gathering place for rebels in the time of King John (think Magna Carta 1215AD). In the 20th century they were farm labourers' cottages, bought in 1965 in a semi-derelict state by a CMS missionary as her home in the UK.

Over the years since, KJT has welcomed family, friends and friends of friends of any faith and none as a place of holiday and re-creation, of retreat, of prayer, of sanctuary. This summer (2026), South Cottage is available for holidays, short breaks, or, where need arises, slightly longer periods.