Summary

Henham (Tudor) Hall (site of), Large courtyard-plan house built circa 1520s-1530s by Charles Brandon.

Monument Types

• GREAT HOUSE (16th century to 17th century - 1501 AD to 1600 AD)

Associated Finds

• POTTERY THETFORD (Late Saxon - 850 AD to 1065 AD)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• BRICK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• MOULDING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• POTTERY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• ROOF TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status: None recorded

Description

Henham (Tudor) Hall (site of):
Large courtyard-plan house built c. 1520's-1530's by Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk on his ancestral estate (feudal overlordship granted to him 1513 - formerly held by the de la Poles, Dukes of Suffolk - but the Brandon family had been mesne lords in the 15th century). Sold to the Crown in 1538 and granted 1545 to Sir Anthony Rous, whose descendents still own the estate (S1-S4).
House described 1538 as "a faier newe howse well buylded with tymber and fayer lyghtys and at the cumming in to the Court a faier yate howe of breake newly buylded with iiii turrettes" (S3). House is shown, with elevations, on R. Nicholson's map of Henham 1699 (S5). There is also a drawing of the front elevation - a copy circa 1820 of a drawing by Joshua Kirby circa 1750 (reproduced in S3 and S4); (S1) has a Victorian elaboration of it between pages 354 & 355). The front elevation with a 3-storey gatehouse and corner towers was of brick, the remainder of the house seems to have been of timber. House was burnt down in a fire 8 May 1773 and demolished (S1). Site lies to the south of the walled garden, in the garden of the later house.
For gardens see HAM 016. Further details in (S6) - also see (S7).
2007:A resistivity survey was carried out in the ground of Henham Park to identify anomalies associated with the former Tudor and Georgian Halls situated in the survey area. The survey has . successfully identified structural remains associated with the demolished Georgian Hall. Possible structural remains have been identified in the north of the survey that may relate to the Tudor Hall, although a comprehensive layout of the earlier Hall cannot be identified. This may be due to the possible robbing of building material. Several former garden pathways, as seen on the I904 OS map, have also been identified (S9).
2012: Results from the magnetic survey show responses associated with the Georgian hall. The majority of the data is magnetically disturbed which may indicate brick rubble associated with the Tudor hall or past landscaping. Modern responses are also visible within the data in the form of metal pipes. GPR survey has clearly identified the position and width of the west, south and east ranges of the Tudor house, including the southwest tower. The central entrance tower was only partly surveyed due to trenches and spoil material. Some responses relating to the northern range were also identified thereby delimiting the footprint of the Tudor dwelling. Part of the footprint of the Georgian mansion was mapped, the data also revealed, with depth, the extent of the more recent house’s cellars (S10).
2014: Evaluation was able to confirm the position and general layout of the Tudor house. It is possible that the ‘new house’ was not an entirely new structure. Only within Trench 6 was there any evidence for possible timber structures and it may be that the medieval manor house was incorporated into the new house, although the current investigations were not able to provide any direct evidence for this.
Evidence from the Trenches confirmed elements seen on contemporary depictions of the house, namely the brick corner turrets and gatehouse. A number of fragments of decorative brickwork were also recovered which are likely to have adorned the frontage of the house. The use of brick was comparatively new at this time and there was evidence in Trench 4 that the builders were still using construction techniques inherited from working with stone, seen also in the use of skeuomorphic ceramic mouldings (S8).

Sources

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