Historic Kentwell Hall has received a peacock and two peahens to start a new generation of peafowl roaming its grounds.

In a presentation ceremony on Friday, May 27, owner of Tostock Animal Parks Olivia Boland gifted the peafowls to the Long Melford manor house.

Kentwell Hall recently lost Percy, a peacock that had been at the hall for 30 years and was a firm favourite with visitors.

Kentwell owner Patrick Phillips said: "Percy paraded round the place like he owned it.

"He would take a particular circuit each day and was much loved by our visitors."

The manor house has had peafowl since 1976 and only recently found itself without them for the first time in 46 years after Percy's sudden death.

Mr Phillips added: "It was a very sad loss when he died and people wondered what happened to him.

"We'll also be naming the new peacock Percy in his honour."

Tostock Animal Parks set its 29 peafowls free three weeks ago and recaptured the peacock and two peahens on Monday, May 2 to be transported to Kentwell Hall.

Owner Olivia Boland was alerted to Kentwell's Percy-shaped hole by her son who had participated in Tudor-themed events at the manor house as a child and heard the sad news via their Facebook page.

Previously, the birds at Tostock Animal Parks had been in lockdown pens to protect them from the latest outbreak of avian flu but they are now free to roam the farm.

Their two white peafowl were incubator-hatched and are therefore willing to be handfed by visitors.

Mrs Boland said: "Those two will peck the food right out of your hands - they'll even give you a wink while they do it."

They have plenty of peafowls on the farm and are hoping more will be hatched this year, as each peahen can have six or seven chicks.

Mrs Boland said: "We're glad to gift the peafowl to Kentwell Hall in honour of Percy.