Record Details

NHER Number:1062
Type of record:Monument
Name:Moated site of Crancourt Manor

Summary

This is the medieval moated site of Crancourt Manor, which was owned by the Howard family during the medieval period. A small, ruined building which stands on the moated island dates from the 18th or 19th centuries, although it contains medieval masonry, perhaps taken from the remains of the medieval manor house, which was demolished in the 19th century. Medieval pottery has been found on the site. Although the moat itself is obscured by trees and not visible on aerial photographs, cropmarks of associated enclosures are present around the earthwork remains.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TF 6914 1542
Map Sheet:TF61NE
Parish:EAST WINCH, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Moated site of Crancourt Manor (Ordnance Survey), formerly marked as The Nunnery.
Also known as Gramcourt, Grandcourt, or Cramcourt. Site of the manor house of the Howards. By 1849 only the west front survived, which was known as the Nunnery. It was demolished in 1851 leaving only a chimney.
See (S1).

1974. Visit.
Some medieval pot found.
Imitation Gothic structure on south edge of platform.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 1974.

The Ordnance Survey card claims the structure is a 15th century chapel, whereas (S2) describes it as a building with lancet windows and a later chimney.
E. Rose (NAU).

16 June 1981. Visit.
Rectangular moat, totally overgrown.
Ditches waterfilled in part but mostly marshy. Island raised up (some trees of considerable age) and overgrown with nettles. No bridge or causeway. South arm almost entirely filled up with rubbish, also part of west arm. Structure is in fact on east side despite above refs, as marked on (S3). It has lost its lancet windows (unless they were covered with ivy) and consists of a rectangular room, plastered inside with carrstone outside; West wall missing. Not closely dateable but no reason to assign a medieval date; perhaps 18th century.
E. Rose (NAU), 16 June 1981.

Name on (S2) changed in 1989.
See (S2) in file.

August 2006. Site visit.
Management advice given to owner.
H. Paterson (A&E), 6 September 2008.

January 2008. Norfolk NMP
Cropmarks relating to the site of a medieval moated manor are visible on aerial photographs (S4-S5). A rectangular medieval moat survives as an earthwork at this site but was too obscured by trees on all available aerial photographs for it to be mapped (S5). However, cropmarks present in arable fields surrounding the moat indicate that the site was more extensive than the surviving earthworks suggest. An L-shaped 9m wide ditch to its south appears to define an annexe to the moat or an outer enclosure. A similarly wide ditch cropmark marks the western side of this enclosure and continues northwards to a modern farm track. A smaller ditch extends from the northeast corner of the moat to complete the other side of the outer enclosure. These ditches form a large trapezoidal enclosure that surrounds the moat on its north, west and south sides. It measures up to 244m long by 144m wide with the moat positioned centrally on its eastern side. To the southeast of the moat are cropmarks of an incomplete rectilinear enclosure that appears to be linked to the moat. The enclosure, which possibly has an internal subdivision, measures 60m by 46m. Other ditch cropmarks, on a west to east alignment, are present between the enclosure and the moat. It is possible that they define further enclosures or that they are of a modern agricultural origin.
J. Albone (NMP), 29 January 2008.

December 2009.
Section 17 management agreement renewed.
See (S6).
D. Robertson (NLA), 11 August 2010.

Monument Types

  • DITCH (Unknown date)
  • FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • MANOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • MOAT (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • TRAPEZOIDAL ENCLOSURE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • BUILDING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status

  • SHINE
  • Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 61 NE 7 [5].
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, W. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 327.
---Photograph: Crancourt Manor. Print.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Medieval. Winch (East).
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Serial: Bryant, T. H. About 1900. Hundred of Freebridge Lynn.
<S2>Designation: English Heritage. 1990-2013. English Heritage Scheduling Notification. Notification. DNF304.
<S3>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1883. First edition six inch map.
<S4>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1980. NHER TF 6915E-F (NLA 103/AQN11-2) 09-DEC-1980.
<S5>Vertical Aerial Photograph: Meridian Airmaps Limited. 1976. MAL 76052 146 29-JUN-1976 (NMR).
<S6>Unpublished Document: Norfolk County Council. 2009-2010. Norfolk Monuments Management Project Section 17 agreement.

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