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Hertfordshire HER
.
The manor was acquired by Eleanor of Castile in 1276. Extensive alterations including backfilling a moat, construction of royal chambers and large wine cellar carried out 1279-1297. Seriously damaged by fire in 1431; by 1591 the Palace was reported to be in decay. Excavation in 1970 revealed part of the plan <1>, and subsequent work has made it possible to work out the general layout. Further excavations located a well-documented domestic range called 'de Longgreuve'; and the weathering cone of the Great Well <6>. In 1993 several fragments of walls and associated robber trenches, ditches and floor surfaces were found. There were also a large number of finds including a possible French 15C trading token <2>. Groups of 13C-15C pottery were found during rescue excavations in 1961, 1974 and 1977 <3>.
| --- | Report: R J Zeepvat. 1995. HAU/HAT backlog archive review: smaller sites. archive assessment. RNO 316 |
| --- | Article in serial: Roberts, Eileen. 1974. Totternhoe stone and flint in Hertfordshire churches; Medieval Archaeol 18, 66-89. - p72 |
| --- | Article in serial: Medieval Archaeology. Vol 21 (1977), 124-65 |
| --- | Article in serial: D F Renn. 1968. Further finds of medieval pottery from Elstree: with a survey of unglazed thumb-pressed jugs; Herts Archaeol 1, 124-7. - p126 |
| --- | Article in serial: Anon. 1914. 49th excursion, September 23, 1914; Trans East Herts Archaeol Soc 5/3, 305-6. - p306 |
| --- | Index: OS Records. |
| --- | Bibliographic reference: RCHM (England). 1911. Inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire. - p135 |
| <1> | Article in serial: Neal, David S. 1973. Excavations at the Palace and Priory at Kings Langley, 1970; Herts Archaeology 3, 31-72. |
| <2> | Report: Herts Archaeol Trust, Rudolf Steiner School, an archaeological evaluation, 1993. |
| <3> | Article in serial: Turner-Rugg, Alison. 1993. Medieval pottery in Hertfordshire: a gazetteer of the principal collections; Herts Archaeology 11, 30-53. - p37 |
| <4> | Article in serial: Fisher, Dr R. 1956. Excavation at Kings Langley Priory; Watford & SW Herts Archaeol Soc Bull 6 (Sept 1956), 3-4. |
| <5> | Article in serial: Fisher, Dr R. 1961. Emergency excavations at Kings Langley Palace; Watford & SW Herts Archaeol Soc Bull 18 (Oct 1961), 3-4. |
| <6> | Article in serial: Neal, D S. 1977. Excavations at the Palace of Kings Langley, Herts, 1974-6; Medieval Archaeology 21, 124-65. |