Hill Hall, located near Epping, Essex, England is a recently restored Elizabethan mansion. Although owned by English Heritage, the building consists of many private apartments. Limited tours are available to see the internal period wall paintings. The house was originally built for Sir Thomas Smith during the reign of Elizabeth I: construction was carried out over several intervals (1567-8, 1572-3) interspersed between Smith's stints as ambassador to France.
The Smith family remained in occupation until the mid 19th century. Hill Hall subsequently became a prisoner of war camp during World War 2 and later a women's prison until a fire in 1969. It has since become part of the heritage trust.
