| Summary : A Manor house, with origins of about 1170-80, probably built by Roger de Stuteville. There is a first floor stone hall with an upper storey and rare late Norman vaulted undercroft, the roof is 15th century. Later additions include outer brick walls which may be dated between the 17th to the 18th centuries, which encase the earlier structure; with later alterations and probably early to mid 18th century fenestration. The building comprises three storeys and four bays. This hall is a predecessor of the present nearby Elizabethan hall [see TA 16 SW 8]. When the new hall was built the older manor building was degraded to the status of service quarters and in the late 17th or early 18th century became a laundry, the 12th century work being then concealed on the outside by brickwork on the east and south. The brickwork may date from 1712 to judge from an inscribed stone inside the north-east wall of the hall, although some date it earlier to the 16th or 17th century with the upper storey added in the 18th century when the present windows were inserted. Restoration was carried out by the former Ministry of Works and the building is in the care of English Heritage; the nearby later Elizabethan Hall is in private ownership. To the north of the Old Manor is a well, which dates to the 12th century, which was probably repaired in the 17th century. The well features a rare large treadmill, formerly powered by a donkey. |
More information : [TA 10246324] Old Manor House. A 12th century hall, the predecessor of the present Elizabethan Hall [see TA 16 SW 8] built AD 1170-80 probably by Roger de Stuteville. It is a first floor stone hall over a vaulted basement, and has a 15th century kingpost roof of five bays. When the new Hall was built this building was degraded to the status of service quarters and in the late 17th or early 18th century became a laundry, the 12th century work being then concealed on the outside by brickwork on east and south. The brickwork may date from 1712 to judge from an inscribed stone inside the north-east wall of the hall, although some date it earlier, in the 16th or 17th century with the upper storey added in the 18th century when the present windows were inserted. Restoration has been carried out by the Ministry of Works.
In a shed north west of the house is the 12th century well, 65 ft deep, and above it the great wheel, once turned by a donkey. The wheel is repaired work of perhaps the 17th century to judge from the windows of the building in which it is housed. (1-3)
I Old Manor House A C12 Hall, the predecessor of the present
Elizabethan hall. Built in 1170-80 probably by Roger de Stuteville. It is a first floor stone hall over a vaulted basement, and has a C15 kingpost roof of 5 bays. The S and E walls of the building have C17-C18 brick facing in English bond, 4 C18 double hung sash windows. When the new Hall was built, this hall became service quarters and for a time was used as a laundry. The exterior has largely C17 and C18 features on its main elevations, but the vaulted undercroft has good C12 work. There is a small spiral staircase leading to the upper hall with C12 stone work in the lower part and C15 work above. Recently repaired by the Ministry of Works. Scheduled Ancient Monument.
I Treadmill wheel and shed. In a shed to the NW of the Old Manor House is a well dating from the C12 with a great wood treadmill
wheel, formerly turned by a donkey. The wheel was probably repaired in the C17. There are few other such wheels (S Fawley Manor Berks, Grey Court Oxon, Carisbrooke Castle I.O.W.). (4)
Re-surveyed, retained as Grade I. (5)
Description of manor house. (6)
TA 1025 6324. Burton Agnes 12th-century manor house. Scheduled RSM No 13333. A late Norman first-floor hall with an upper storey and vaulted undercroft which show evidence of alterations dating to the 15th, 17th and 18th centuries. Trial excavations carried out in 1984 by the CEU revealed that extensive buried remains relating to both medieval and post-medieval phases of the building survive well and in situ on the site. The undercroft measures 12.34m by 6.02m. A central arcade of five cylindrical piers with water-leaf capitals divide the room into four two-part bays with a restored vaulted roof. The western-most end pier is set into the end wall and has a Nine Men's Morris board carved into it. An original newel stair gives access into the first floor hall, which measures 13.64m by 6.86m and dates, in its present form, to the 15th century, when the 12th century walls were heightened and the present king-post roof erected. The NE wall bears a date of 1712 for its rebuilding, at which time the external SE wall was also cased in brick to blend in with the adjacent `New Hall'. The manor house was probably built between 1170 and 1180 by Roger de Stuteville. The 15th century alterations were probably carried out by the then owner Sir Walter Griffith, whose descendent Sir Henry Griffith built the new hall between 1601 and 1610 after which the manor house was used first as servants' quarters, then a laundry. The present day owners, the Boyntons, have held the property since 1654. (7)
Test excavations carried out in the 1980s revealed that some Norman masonry survived above the footings, possibly a quoin. (8)
In his classic series of books on the buildings of England, Pevsner notes that this is a rare example of a late Norman building encased in a later brick facade. (9)
Additional source with an overview of the development of the building and colour illustrations. (10) |