John Symonds (1730-1807) was an agronomist; lawyer; writer; member of the Society of Dilettanti (1787); and professor of modern history at Cambridge (1771-1807). He was also included on the list of subscribers to Robert Adam's the Ruins of the palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia (1764), which presumably explains his choice of Adam as the architect for his country house. St Edmund's Hill is located at the end of Mount Road on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds. It is built of grey brick and was complete by 1766. Five of the six surviving drawings for this building were incorrectly inscribed by William Adam as being for Mr Stephenson, but it is quite clear that this is incorrect as Symonds's house was built in Suffolk in accordance with these designs, and moreover, one of the plans is inscribed Mr Symonds Study. Some of the original interior decorative work survives in situ, although only three extant designs for chimneypeices. Since 1962 Moreton Hall has been used as an independent preparatory school.

Literature:
A.T. Bolton, The architecture of Robert and James Adam, 1922, Volume II, Index p. 58; E. Radcliffe, and N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Suffolk, 1974, p. 153; D. King, The complete works of Robert & James Adam and unbuilt Adam, 2001, Volume I, pp. 125-27; A. Rowan, Bob the Roman: heroic antiquity & the architecture of Robert Adam, 2003, p. 46

Frances Sands, 2011