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Summary

Site of fortified manor house, probably dating back to at least the 13th century. A quadrangular area is surrounded by a stone wall around 21 feet high. A gatehouse was added in the late 15th century. Within this area there is a largely Victorian house. The original manor house was probably towards the centre of the area. It was replaced by a second manor house c 1400. A watching brief during building work in 2011 uncovered the remains of a stone building of 13th-14th century date, the first evidence of what the medieval buildings within the curtain wall may have looked like.

Monument Type(s):

• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Description

Buried remains of a modest fortified manor house. Adjacent were a farm, of which a barn (HER1575) survives, and a chapel (HER2677), now replaced by a Victorian church (HER1572). A psalter written for John Harpur of Rushall includes a history of the manor. The property was held by the Boweles family between c 1230 and 1346. It was acquired through marriage by the Harpurs in c 1430 and they retained it until 1540. It was the Boweles family who were responsible for fortifying the house and it took the simplest form. A quadrangular area, approximately 300 feet (91m) by 175 feet (53m), was enclosed by a wall nearly 21 feet high without towers, projection or wall walk (now recorded as HER13881). The hall was surrounded by a moat during a siege in 1644 but there is little trace of it or of the earthworks and bastions that proved so formidable. In c 1400 Geoffrey Ive pulled down an old hall at Rushall and replaced it with a new one but the position of the medieval manor house has not been traced. Stebbing Shaw suggested that the old house may have been in the centre of the courtyard which was formerly 'full of foundations'. The essentially Victorian house in the north east corner of the court, cutting through the defensive wall, incorporates medieval material of uncertain date and purpose.

The Harpurs replaced the gateway in the late 15th century with a two-storeyed gatehouse erected behind the earlier archway. Above the entrance passage was a residential chamber raised a further storey in the late 16th/early 17th century but destroyed c 1845. (1) (2)

The original date of the manor house is uncertain. There is a reference to the curia (manor house) of William de Boweles at Russhehale in 1292 and another reference to the hall being rebuilt c 1400. (3)

Willmore conjectured that there was an embattled house of old red sandstone of 12th century date, surrounded by a wall and moat. There is, however, no supporting evidence for this. (4)

Excavations by the then owner, Mr Bird, and by boys of Walsall Grammar School, under the direction of Messrs Fink and Dickson, from 1952-5 revealed foundations interpreted as the remains of the old manor house. (5) Unauthorised trench along inner wall by gatehouse excavated by metal-detector 1990. (6)

Rushall Hall in Civil War. (7) Mid-19th century account. (8) Early 20th century article. (9)

Other refs. (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15)

Series of aerial photos of site taken in 1989, presumably by Neil Lang, are referred to in computer file retrieved by Steve Stead. (17) (18) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) Copies cannot be found within the BCHER. (26)

A watching brief during the building of a large extension within the walled area in 2011 recorded the remains of stone walls of medieval and post-medieval date. A substantial wall represented a stone building of 13th or 14th century date; the first evidence of what the medieval buildings within the curtain wall may have looked like. It was built on a rubble and mortar substrate and abutted by a mortar floor. Two contemporary walls suggested an enclosure between the buildings and the north curtain wall. One of these walls was abutted by three 16th-17th century walls. Two of them were short and closely spaced and probably represent a porch in front of a door. The other wall may represent the subdivision of a medieval enclosure or a cellar beneath a house. The remaining walls comprised two garden walls and two cellars. The cellars certainly represent a house, which was perhaps replaced by the present building. (27)

SUMMARY from West Midlands Archaeology: An archaeological watching brief was undertaken of groundworkds at Rushall Hall, the site of a medieval fortified manor house. Most of the work focused on an area to the south of the present late-18th century house which incorporates part of a medieval curtain wall. Ground reduction and the excavation of foundation trenches exposed the remains of medieval and post-medieval walls. A substantial wall represented a stone building of 13th or 14th century date; the first evidence of what the medieval buildings within the curtilage may have looked like. It was built on a rubble and mortar substrate and abutted by a mortar floor. Two contemporary walls suggested an enclosure between the building and the north curtain wall One of these walls was abutted by three 16th or 17th century walls. Two of them were short and closedly spaced and so probably represent a porch in front of a door. The other wall may represent the subdivision of the medieval enclosure of a cellar beneath a house. The remaining walls comprised two garden walls and two cellars. The cellars certainly represent a house, which was probably replaced by the present building. (28)

Sources and Further Reading

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.