Record Details

NHER Number:14546
Type of record:Monument
Name:Site of medieval Prior's manor house, also known as The Rectory

Summary

The site of a medieval Prior's House which was visible on aerial photographs taken in 1953, but by 1959 had been demolished. The three-bay house was of flint with brick dressings but beneath this early 19th century exterior was a timber-framed building. The complex of ancillary buildings belonging to the manor included a malt house, granary and other farm buildings. The extant farm buildings on this site are 19th century.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TF 989 215
Map Sheet:TF92SE
Parish:NORTH ELMHAM, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Site of Prior's Manor House (as distinct from Bishop's manor house, which was cathedral). Building marked on the Ordnance Survey map was demolished in the 1950s. A 19th century photograph shows a house with central range higher than wings clad in recent brick and flint, but with evidence of a timber framed core, and a large chimney.
Documentary references to flues being installed in 1410 and kitchens and stables built 1320.
Full details of all documentary references in (S1).
Information from [1].

This house lay to the east of the church, immediately beyond the old Back Lane that was closed in 1831. The demolition of this building is shown on two aerial photographs, one dating from 1953 (S2) where the building is clearly visible, and another taken in 1959 (S3) where all that remains is a pile of rubble. A photograph dating from around 1900 shows a three-bay, two-and-a-half-storey farmhouse of flint with brick dressings, apparently of around 1800. However, the pitch of the roof and the appearance of the building suggest a much earlier timber framed core.

Although the manor itself dates from the late 11th century, the earliest surviving record of a manor house on this site is a document of 1255-6. Other documents detailing repairs made to the building in the 14th and 15th century indicate that there was a thatched hall large enough to house 15 to 18 persons at harvest time. The hall was probably heated by an open hearth until flues were added in 1410. Other rooms and buildings noted in documentary sources include a chamber, a solar, kitchens, a servants' chamber, a bakehouse, a malt-house and malt-kiln, and a dairy as well as several barns, a carthouse, a cow-shed, a stable and a granary.
The extant farm buildings on this site are 19th century.
See (S1) for further details.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 4 January 2008.

Monument Types

  • BAKEHOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • BARN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • CART SHED (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • COW HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • DAIRY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • GRANARY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • KITCHEN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • MALT HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • MALT KILN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • MANOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • SERVICE WING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • STABLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • TIMBER FRAMED BUILDING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • FARMHOUSE (Medieval to Mid 20th Century - 1255 AD? to 1959 AD?)
  • MANOR HOUSE (Medieval to Mid 20th Century - 1255 AD? to 1959 AD?)
  • BARN (18th Century to 21st Century - 1800 AD to 2100 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
<S1>Monograph: Wade-Martins, P. with Yaxley, D.. 1980. Excavations in North Elmham Park 1967-1972. East Anglian Archaeology Report. Vol IX, parts 1 and 2. pp 601-608.
<S2>Oblique Aerial Photograph: St. Joseph, J.K.. 1953. CUCAP LF37 20-APR-1953.
<S3>Oblique Aerial Photograph: St. Joseph, J.K.. 1959. CUCAP ZP71 04-JUL-1959.

Related records - none

Find out more...

Norfolk County Council logo Heritage Lottery Fund logo

Powered by HBSMR-web and the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd, and mojoPortal CMS
© 2007 - 2024 Norfolk Historic Environment Service