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Summary

A royal hunting preserve with a lodge from as early as 1320. It was disparked in 1629 by Charles I and granted to William Turnbull.

Monument Type(s):

• DEER PARK (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1320 AD to 1660 AD)
• GREAT HALL (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1320 AD to 1540 AD)
• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1320 AD to 1540 AD)
• ROYAL CHAPEL (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1320 AD to 1540 AD)
• ROYAL PARK (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1320 AD to 1540 AD)
• GREAT HALL (Post Medieval - 1628 AD to 1628 AD)
• HUNTING LODGE (Post Medieval - 1628 AD to 1628 AD)
• MOAT (Post Medieval - 1628 AD to 1628 AD)
• ROYAL CHAPEL (Post Medieval - 1628 AD to 1628 AD)
• ROYAL PARK (Post Medieval - 1628 AD to 1628 AD)

Description

A royal hunting preserve with a lodge from as early as 1320. It was disparked in 1629 by Charles I and granted to William Turnbull. Easthampstead Park, with moated lodge, is shown on Norden's Map. Walter's map shows the park centred at SU 849668 and the lodge at SU 84856695.

The park pale shown on the HER map is sketched from Norden’s map but is very approximate south of the Easthampstead Road. From Norden's map of 1607 it appears that East Hampstead was one of the walks of Windsor Forest <4>.

A Royal House was in existence at Easthampstead by 1516. Norden's survey map of Easthampstead, made in 1607, shows a substantial house on a square site surrounded by a moat. James I visited the house from 1618 to his death and Charles I granted Easthampstead to William Turnbull in 1628 <8>.

This was a royal park in Windsor Forest, conveniently close to Windsor Castle and first mentioned in 1365 as a park surrounded by palings. There was a royal residence or hunting lodge and the park became a favourite royal hunting ground. It is shown by both Saxton (1574) and by Norden (1607) in their maps of the area. In Norden's time it contained a mansion and inclosed 265 acres of land described as 'very mean, well timbered and stoked with 200-300 fallow deer'. James I enlarged the park but it had begun to decline by 1629 when his son granted out the rights of chase of the Keeper, William Turnbull. According to a petition of 1660 all the deer had been destroyed in the Civil War and it was impossible to replace them. Nevertheless Easthampstead survived as an ornamental park <10>.

The lodge within the park was more than a mere hunting lodge. Easthampstead manor was acquired by Edward II from John of Droxford, Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1320. In 1343, the house was converted. There were two buildings arranged about a courtyard. The building on the East was converted from two rooms up and down into eight chambers, and the western bulding, a single room up and down, was converted to five chambers. The hall, chapel and kitchen were reroofed at the same time. In 1392 there were references to a great hall, great chapel, and a spicery <8>.

Easthampstead Park remains today (1993) and is on a partially different site and alignment from the medieval park <9>.

According to Kupfermann (1986) a very slight earthwork remains surviving (NGR SU 844 673) <6>. However, according to English Heritage the site of the moat is occupied by modern buildings.

<1> 11/05/50, RAF58/485 5213-4 (Photograph). SBF187.

<2> 12/05/54, RAFF21581434 90-1 (Photograph). SBF188.

<3> Berkshire Archaeological Society, 1932, Berkshire Archaeological Journal, Pages 112-113 (Bibliographic reference). SBF5069.

<4> Norden J, 1607, Map of Windsor and Berkshire (Map). SBF4059.

<5> Walter, H, 1823, Map of Berkshire (Map). SRW4433.

<6> Kupfermann E, 1986, The Moated Sites of East Berkshire, Page 43 (Unpublished document). SBF5541.

<7> 1923, Victoria County History Berkshire, Pages 78-79 (Bibliographic reference). SWK6192.

<8> Colvin H M, 1963, The History of the Kings Works II The Middle Ages, Pages 925-27 (Bibliographic reference). SBF5074.

<9> Oxford Archaeological Unit, 1993, An Archaeological Appraisal of Development at Peacock Farm, Bracknell (Unpublished document). SRM13029.

<10> The Berkshire Archaeological Society, 1979-80, Berkshire Archaeological Journal 70, Page 74 (Journal). SRW5969.

<11> Historic England, Historic England Research Record (formerly PastScape), Monument No. 247793 ; http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=247793 (Database). SRM13962.

<12> T & S Dwyer, 2008, Tigers on the Golf Course (E-Mail). SRM15836.

Sources

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