Record Details

Summary

The site of a moated manor house which included a well constructed great hall. The moat was likely to have been infilled in the 18th century (see PRN 00865 for later history).

Monument Type(s):

• MANOR HOUSE (Norman to Tudor - 1100 AD to 1499 AD)
• MOAT (MEDIEVAL - 1066 AD to 1485 AD)
• GREAT HALL (Norman to Tudor - 1100 AD? to 1499 AD?)

Associated Finds:

• SHERD (Norman to MEDIEVAL - 1100 AD to 1299 AD)

Associated Events:

• EST846 - An archaeological evaluation at Wolseley Hall, Colwich, 1989. (NRHE Name - Wolseley Hall)
• EST1153 - An archaeological watching brief at Wolseley Garden Park, Wolseley, Colwich, 2002. (NRHE Name - Wolseley Garden Park)
• EST2230 - An archaeological watching brief at Wolseley Hall Park, Colwich

Full description

The first members of the family to live here were Edric de Wholesley then Rimcrus and Syward who were living at Wolseley in King Harold's reign (1066). The old manorial hall of the Wolseley's stood in a field "high on the right side" of the present house. Its foundations were still visible in 1820 <1>

A licence to crenellate his mansion at Wolseley was granted to Ralph Wolseley in 9 Edward IV (1470). <2>

In 1958 it was thought that the original site in a "field high on the right side" of Wolseley Hall must refer to the broad flat-topped hill, centred at SK0241 2018 to the south of, and in front of the hall. Its summit was under grass in 1958 and was uneven but no trace of a former building was seen <3>

Evidence for occupation of the site in the 12th/13th centuries was found in the form of fragments of coarse cooking pots, probably used by the inhabitants of the earliest hall, which would have been built mainly of timber. At this time or a little later a large moat was dug around the hall, the corner of which was picked up in the geophysical survey. Later in the medieval period the moat was reinforced by the construction of a massive stone curtain wall. The foundations of a complex of buildings was observed within the moat. The foundations were relatively slight, and may have supported timber superstructures. However, one corner of a larger and more robust building was also uncovered, almost certainly the Great Hall. This had formed the core of the complex and survived many of the later changes, although it did not survive the rebuilding of 1820 (see PRN 00865) (DAL 15/07/2009) <4>

A trench into the moat revealed a shallow feature cut no more than 1.5m below the level of the natural gravels. This feature was c.0.3m wide and had gently sloping sides. Although this is small compared with normal moats, it is possible that the revetment wall was constructed within the pre-existing moat thereby reducing the width of the ditch. None of the original moat fills had survived recent disturbance. The revetment wall is a complex structure, standing just over 2m high. At least two phases of construction were apparent, expressed as a significant change in alignment. Parts of the upper course may have been rebuilt in the late medieval period. To the north of the moat wall is a large, irregular, rectangular structure straddling the moat. It was built of sandstone and survived to the same height at the revetment wall. Excavation demonstrated it had been built after the digging of the moat and that its foundations followed the contours of the moat sides. The outer faces suggest that most of its surviving height was meant to be exposed, and the gap carefully left between it and the moat wall suggests that it was built when the moat was still water-filled. The interior had been divided with brick partitions at a later date. No evidence of function was recovered, the position makes a bridge foundation unlikely and documentary research suggests the gate stood on the southern side of the moat. It may have been built to support a building extending out of the moat. Finds from the thick layer of rubble suggest an 18th century date for its demolition, presumably contemporary with the infilling of the moat (DAL 15/07/2009) <5>.

The reference in <1> above was refuted by Sir Charles Wolseley, the 9th baronet in his book. He stressed that there was no family tradition that the house had ever been on any site than the present one, which has been proven by the archaeological excavations. Deeds relating to the Wolseley's have been found dating back to the 12th century; however it is a deed of 1315 which suggests that they were resident on the site of the present hall. This, taken with the archaeological evidence of the 12th/13th century cooking pot, suggests that the Wolseley's may have occupied the site from at least this time, if not earlier. The licence to crenellate granted in 1469 to Ralph Wolseley and the recently exposed massive sandstone curtain wall makes it certain that the Wolseley's were resident on the site by the 15th century. It may have been during the 15th century that major rebuilding of the manor house may have occurred (DAL 15/07/2009) <6>

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