Any questions? Try here first

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument () 20525: Bossall Hall: a quadrangular castle
• Listed Building (II) 1149644: Bossall Hall

Monument Type(s):

• QUADRANGULAR CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• MANOR HOUSE (14th CENTURY to 19th Century - 1301 AD? to 1900 AD)

Other References/Statuses

• Old Sites & Monuments Record Number: 1641.03

Full description

Bossall Hall lies within a complete square moated area with an outer line on the north side. The Hall was built before 1644 by Sir Robert Belt but almost rebuilt in the 18th cent. Rain water heads are dated 1726 and 1798. W.J.Belt in 1885 wrote that a castle once stood here and that a double curtain wall with square and round towers and a barbican were in their foundations still traceable. The external appearance of Bossail Hall is entirely 18th.C and is not outstanding. The moat is now dry and partly fllled-in, but the extant remains are well preserved, and average 2m. in depth. The alleged remains of the double curtain wall and barbican are not apparent.
Form: Site of (1)
The hall lies within a type A2(b) moated site. The remains of the double curtain wall with square and round towers and a barbican were not apparent in 1967, when the moat was dry and partly filled in. The moated site may be related to that on the east side of the church (PRN 709), the whole complex forming a type A5 (a) site.(2)

Grade II Listed Building and Scheduled Area. (3,4)

A Heritage Statement in 2022 researched the history and development of the former Castle and Hall. The description of the remains of the castle in Belt (auth 1) has been interpreted as a quadrangular castle dating from the 14th century in the scheduling record. This interpretation is discussed alongside the suggestion that a moated manor house existed rather than a castle. The Bossall family held the manor until the 15th century when it passed to the Redman family, then the Thwaites family. By 1623 it passed to the Belt family until it was sold in 1890. There are several descriptions of the house and asociated buildings in sales and rental details from the 19th and twentieth centuries. Ten building phases are visible in the building plan dating from the late 16th to early to mid 20th century. The earliest phase is legible in the building as the hallway which is likely to be on the same alignment as the cross passage of an original three bay building. Subsequent additions and alterations can be traced within the existing building and are recorded in the report with photographs. The footprint of the hall has reduced since the mid 19th century. The grounds were developed in the 18th century. (5)

A brief architectural description in (6)

<1> Ordnance Survey, Various, Ordnance Survey Record Card, SE 76 SW 2 (Card Index). SNY1.

<2> Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1977 - 1980, Yorkshire Studies Card, SE 76 SW 708 (Card Index). SNY2.

<3> English Heritage, 15/10/1993, Bossall Hall: a quadrangular castle (Scheduled Monument Notification). SNY10194.

<4> Historic England (formerly English Heritage), 2011-Ongoing, The National Heritage List for England (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/) (Catalogue). SNY19369.

<5> Irving Patrick Consulting Ltd, 02/2022, Heritage Statement. Bossall Hall (Report). SNY24455.

<6> 1985, The Buildings oF England: Yorkshire The North Riding, p84 (Monograph). SNY1841.

Sources and further reading

Provide feedback for this record

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