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Summary

Medieval manorial site with moat, granted to Andrew Ogard in 1443

Monument Types

• MANOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)
• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)
• MOAT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)

Associated Events

• Watching brief at Rye House moat, Hoddesdon, 2000 (Ref: HAT 768)
• Watching brief at Rye House gatehouse, 2008

Protected Status

• Scheduled Ancient Monument 11522: RYE HOUSE MOATED ENCLOSURE AND GATEHOUSE

Full description

The manor of the Rye may be identified with a half hide held by Geoffrey de Bech in 1086 <3>. Licence to empark and build a castle was granted to Andrew Ogard in 1443 by Henry VI. The charter apparently described the inclosure of the 'site of the manor of Rye, alias the Island of Rye and 50 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, 80 acres of pasture and 16 acres of wood within the island, to make a park and have free warren, and to crenellate the house'. A contemporary account suggests that the purchase of the manor of the Rye cost £1,100; the building of the inner court with brick and of the rooms and inclosure (claustrum) cost 11,000 marks, and the granary and storehouse with 16 horses and 30 cows was worth 2,000 marks <3>.
A 17th century plan of the site shows a complex of buildings surrounded by a wall within the moated enclosure, with a further courtyard to the east and a causeway constructed by Ogard south of the site. This allowed a dry crossing of the marshy land where the river Lea meets the Stort, and became part of a highway between London and East Anglia; for the toll gate, see [15617]. In 1683 Rye House achieved notoriety through its connection with the plot to kill Charles II and the Duke of York at the toll gate on their way back from Newmarket via this route <1>.
Extant remains of Rye House itself consist of the gatehouse [285] and the moat, which is now an ornamental feature; as well as late medieval fragments [12255, 12256, 12257] moved when Rye House became pleasure grounds [12664] in the later 19th century. The area within the moat was laid out as gardens, with large glasshouses, and buildings beyond the north corner of the moat are shown on the later 19th century OS maps <6, 7>. These were all cleared away in the 20th century.
Watching briefs during moat clearance and on the replacement of the footbridge across the moat to the gatehouse door were unproductive <4>.
The manorial name is 'Eia' in Domesday. It is documented as 'insula de la Rye' in 1261, meaning 'the island or well-watered land'; this form derives from Middle English 'atter eye', at the island. Rye House (and its farmstead) occupy an area of drier land in the middle of the flood plain.

OS Records (Index). SHT8223.

RCHM (England), 1911, Inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire, - p210 (Bibliographic reference). SHT9222.

Moodey, G E, 1971, Stanstead Abbotts: The Rye House; East Herts Archaeol Soc Newsletter 1971, 30 (Article in serial). SHT3185.

<1> Smith, Terence Paul, 1975, Rye House, Hertfordshire, and aspects of early brickwork in England; Archaeological Journal 132, 111-47 (Article in serial). SHT1621.

<2> Andrews, R T, 1903, The Rye House castle and manor of Rye; Trans East Herts Archaeol Soc 2/2, 32-45 (Article in serial). SHT3014.

<3> Page, W (ed.), 1912, VCH Hertfordshire vol.3, - p370 (Bibliographic reference). SHT2329.

<4> Brown, Ralph Stewart, 2008, Watching brief: Rye House gatehouse, Lee Valley Park, Herts, RNO 2708 (Report). SHT1548.

<5> Murray, Jon, 2000, Works at Rye House gatehouse moat, Hoddesdon, Herts: archaeological monitoring and recording, RNO 861 (Report). SHT6503.

<6> OS 25 inch map, 1st edition, 1880 (Cartographic material). SHT8116.

<7> OS 25 inch map, 2nd edition (1897-1901), 1898 (Cartographic material). SHT8113.

<8> Gover, J E B, Mawer, Allen, & Stenton, F M, 1938, The place-names of Hertfordshire, - p201 (Bibliographic reference). SHT3417.

Sources and further reading

Related records

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