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Historic England Research Records

Old Hall

Hob Uid: 343870
Location :
Leicestershire
Harborough
Lubenham
Grid Ref : SP7085087040
Summary : Late C18th house incorporating parts of C16/17th moated manor house (largely demolished circa 1774) surviving as a roofed building. Moat and possible associated fishpond and ridge and furrow surviving as earthworks
More information : [ SP 7085 8704 ] Manor House [G.T.] (Remains of) Moat
[G.T.] (1)

The manor house of Lubenham was an ancient building, chiefly of
stone but with a more modern brick south front. This latter part
is now standing, the rest of the house being pulled down about
1774.
Various rooms in the former house are described. The great
staircase had the appearance of an addition.
The moat, enclosing about two acres, was full of water until
recently, though now only a small part remains in that state.
Traditionally this was once a religious house. A motto over the
entrance 'Deus hic' either preserved or gave rise to this
opinion. Charles I is said to have lodged here before the
Battle of Naseby: he is known to have spent the night in the
neighbourhood of Harborough.

The sketch of the hall [ AO:59:396:7 ] was drawn from memory soon
after it was taken down. The plan [ AO:59:396:6 ] shows the
buildings now standing (dark shading) and those that were pulled
down within the memory of T. Reynolds (light shading). (2)

"Lubenham - On the south-east of the village the remains of the
ancient manor house stand within a rectangular moat 20 ft. wide
and 4 ft. deep, with a rampart 4 ft. high on the north side. It
is now drained ... A fishpond is to the south-west of the site." (3)

"Manor House, Old Hall Lane, Lubenham. 19/2. Grade II.
This is a mere fragment of a 16/17 c. stone house, repaired and
modernised in brick and slated." (4)

The building is known as Old Hall and is divided into two
cottages. There is a cobbled yard underlying the front garden. (a)

Old Hall is a rectangular building, two storeys high, with
attached out-buildings. The south front is built of irregularly
coursed stone with casement windows. The east and north walls
are of stone and brick. The west wall has its lower part built of
stone containing a blocked, stone-mullioned window with a moulded
drip course. This represents the only fragment associable with
the house illustrated by Nichols and is probably 16/17th c. The
remainder of the present structure is an 18th c. rebuilding.
The moat is formed by a deep, wide, ditch with an outer bank on
the north and east sides. The west side is partly occupied by the
approach road - Old Hall Lane. The eastern half of the south side
remains with vestiges of a bank separating it from the river
Welland. The remainder of this side and the southern half of the
west side are not clearly visible on the ground though shown
forming a conventional corner on the OS 25, 1929. It is possible
that the course of the moat at this point was complicated by
fish-ponds of which a small waterfilled remnant remains. The
railway has altered the course of the river here and possibly
obliterated original earthworks.

In the northern half of the moat are depressions and banks
marking the site of the major part of the former house; a few
bricks and stones can be seen. The southern part of the moat is
old rig-and-furrow, under grass. North of the moat is evidence
of minor depopulation - SP 70858720 - and a large pre-enclosure
banked field, misidentified as a Roman 'camp' - SP 78 NW 3.
A 25" A.M. survey has been made.
See G.P. AO/60/106/7 - 16/17th c. window from the south west;
AO/60/106/8 - Old Hall from the south. (5)

Part of the earthworks on the NW corner of the moat have been
destroyed by the erection of a new farmhouse. A substantial
counterscarp on the eastern arm of the moat has been surveyed at
1/2500. (6)

SP 7085 8703. Old Hall moated site.
The square moat comprises three arms with a fourth believed to be infilled on the western side. With the exception of the northern half of the eastern arm, most of the moat is water-filled and 12-15m wide and 1-1.5m deep. There is an outer bank on the eastern and northern sides 0.5m high, and an inner bank on the northern side 1m high. At the south-western end the moat opens out into a pond which enclosed a small island 25m long. A bank 0.5m high runs at right angles from the eastern arm onto the moat island. Traces of ridge and furrow are visible on the south side of the island.
Documentary sources suggests that the manor house was largely demolished in the late 18th century. The present Old Hall is excluded from the scheduling. Scheduled (RSM) No 17042. (7)

Sources :
Source Number : 1
Source :
Source details : OS 6" 1928-50.
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Source Number : 2
Source :
Source details : "Hist. & Ants. Leic.", vol. 2, pt. 2, 1798, pp. 699, 701. illus. opp. p. 701 & p. 478, (J. Nichols)
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Source Number : 3
Source :
Source details : VCH Leic., vol. 1, 1907, p.269. (J. Charles Wall).
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Source Number : 4
Source :
Source details : "Ministry of Town & Country Planning, File 2232/11/A", p. 11.
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Source Number : 5
Source :
Source details : W C Woodhouse/01-MAR-1960/Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator
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Source Number : 5a
Source :
Source details : Oral: Mr K Burditt, Farmer, Old Hall, Lubenham
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Source Number : 6
Source :
Source details : J Baird/27-OCT-1971/Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator
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Source Number : 7
Source :
Source details : English Heritage SAM Amendment Leicestershire 01-APR-1993
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Monument Types:
Monument Period Name : Medieval
Display Date : Medieval
Monument End Date : 1540
Monument Start Date : 1066
Monument Type : Fishpond, Moat, Ridge And Furrow, Manor House
Evidence : Earthwork, Extant Building
Monument Period Name : Post Medieval
Display Date :
Monument End Date :
Monument Start Date : 1800
Monument Type : House
Evidence : Extant Building

Components and Objects:
Related Records from other datasets:
External Cross Reference Source : Scheduled Monument Legacy (National No.)
External Cross Reference Number : 17042
External Cross Reference Notes :
External Cross Reference Source : National Monuments Record Number
External Cross Reference Number : SP 78 NW 4
External Cross Reference Notes :

Related Warden Records :
Associated Monuments :
Relationship type : General association

Related Activities :
Associated Activities :
Activity type : FIELD OBSERVATION (VISUAL ASSESSMENT)
Start Date : 1971-10-27
End Date : 1971-10-27
Associated Activities :
Activity type : DESK BASED ASSESSMENT
Start Date : 2003-01-01
End Date : 2003-12-31