More information : Mediaeval Coin Hoard : 446 silver pennies of c. 1223 to
soon after 1260 AD. found 13.8.1938 eighteen inches from surface
of the ground. (1)
As above [TQ 54438700] (2)
The area to the west is traditionally the site of Hornchurch Hall.
The fragments of water shown on OS 6", 1961, were known locally
as the 'moat' to the Hall and were deliberately hastily filled
in in 1964/5 to prevent any local outcry at destn. of this antiquity.
The site is now occupied by the Robert Beard Youth Centre or Youth
Employment Office built 1964/5. A good guide in the church refers
to the manor-house. The hoard was deposited in or after AD 1265 and
Thompson lists 448 coins in the British or Hornchurch Museums. (3)
(TQ 54438700). Hornchurch Hall originated as an adaptation of the Priory after its dissolution in 1391 and its purchase by New College, Oxford. The priory had been founded in 1163 but in 1399-1400 after its dissolution it was split, the rectory at the western end becoming the Hall, the vicarage at the east end becoming the Chaplaincy.
In 1923 the Hall was a house of C16 date with a C17 chimney, the south front being an addition of the late C18 or early C19. It was demolished 1941. (4)
A photograph in source 5 shows the building in 1917. (5)
The Old Chaplaincy, retaining some C17 parts, remains opposite the church. (6)
The site is now occupied by a youth club. There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that there was a moat at this location. (7) |