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Summary

Length of stone wall recorded in mid 20th century before demolition and suggested to be part of the boundary wall of the medieval Greenham preceptory

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Conservation Area: Kennet and Avon Canal East
• Conservation Area: Newbury Town Centre

Other Statuses and Cross-References

• Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 01389.07.100
  
• National Monuments Record No.: SU 46 NE 62
  SU 4739 6714 to SU 4740 6714

Monument Type(s):

• (Former Type) WALL (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• HOSPITALLERS PRECEPTORY? (14th century to 16th century - 1301 AD to 1600 AD)
• BOUNDARY WALL (18th - 19th century - 1701 AD? to 1900 AD?)

Full Description

The NMR records notes:
Hadcock records a length of medieval stone wall as probably part of the preceptory's boundary wall, to the east of the car park. This wall, 2.0m high and 0.7m thick, is of ashlar and extends from SU 4739 6714 to SU 4740 6714.

The source for this appears to be Hadcock's guide to Newbury <1>, with measurements taken by the Ordnance Survey field investigator in 1963 <2>. The GIS line has been drawn between the two given points. This structure may have been the wall shown running between two buildings east of the Canal Basin on the 1:500 First Edition Ordnance Survey maps <3> and was probably demolished when the dual carriageway was built in the mid 1960s. Although the wall could well have contained medieval fabric, there seems little evidence to link it to the Greenham Hospitallers' Preceptory.

A small section of a stone wall with a right angled corner survived adjacent to a boat house until 2016 when the site was developed for a canoe club. Some photographs were taken of the structure. The wall was constructed of squared blocks of pale stone of uneven size, with approximately nine courses visible. It was c 1.25 m in height, but topped with concrete slabs which seemed likely to be a later addition. The corner was well defined, but both ends of the wall had been truncated and were in a ruinous state. This wall's presence on the late 19th century town plan <3> is not clear but it may have formed a boundary to a yard for a building on the wharf in the early 20th century.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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