For important guidance on the use of this record, please click here.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

The original defensive structure was a ringwork with moat, probably constructed shortly after the Norman conquest.

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 2059.20

Monument Type(s):

• RINGWORK? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

Beresford suggests that the original defensive structure at Penhallam was a ringwork with moat,`probably constructed shortly after the Norman conquest'. It was mostly destroyed by the late 13th or early 14th century, but is said to be still visible on the west and east sides of the site. The sub-rectangular form of the moat is also said to be significant (b6,97). It is suggested that the ringwork bank was 50ft (15m) wide at the base, 12ft (4m) high, and turf faced.The camera (2059.5) and its hall are said to have been associated with the ringwork. It is also suggested that since the alleged ringwork would have provided only a limited occupation area, the stables and outbuildings must have lain outside the moat. `It is inconveivable that they would not have been protected by a bailey; its site is probably delineated by the bank which surrounds the present farmstead and orchard' (b6,100). However, the existence of this ringwork may be doubted, for several reasons: the valley bottom site is unusual for a ringwork; ringworks are not usually associated with moats; the earthwork evidence mentioned by Beresford is not clear on the ground; the excavated evidence for the ringwork bank is not clear and it is not shown on the section through the hall where it is said to have sealed earlier features, and since the finds from the site are entirely late 13th and 14th centuries, any 11th or 12th century occupation, let alone a ringwork, may be questioned (APJ, PGR ,pers comm). Furthermore, it is strange that two ringworks should have been built so close together and by the same family - both Penhallam and Week St Mary were owned by Richard Fitz-Turold in 1086.

<1> Thorn, C & F (Eds), 1979, Domesday Book 10: Cornwall, 5, 3, 19 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4703.

<2> Henderson, C, 1914, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities (Unpublished document). SCO3503.

<3> Henderson, C, 1925, The Cornish Church Guide, 113 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3512.

<4> Beresford, G, 1970, Unknown Title, VOL 14, 189-190 (Article in Journal). SCO5082.

<5> Beresford, G, 1971, Berry Court, Jacobstow (Article in Journal). SCO224.

<6> Beresford, G, 1974, The Medieval Manor at Penhallam, Jacobstow, Cornwall (Article in Journal). SCO2821.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• ECO2241 - Berry Court, Jacobstow
• ECO2242 - Berry Court, Jacobstow

Related records

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.