Record Details

NHER Number:11061
Type of record:Building
Name:East Hall (previously known as Lodge Farm)

Summary

This farmhouse is located inside a medieval moat. The farmhouse is a timber framed building with a raised aisle truss roof of which there are only two known in the county. The brick skin, dated to 1838, disguises the remains of a medieval aisled house. The house would have had high status within the parish and its proximity to another medieval moat (NHER 11060) suggests that this may the site of an early medieval manor that was later replaced by the site at Hall Farm Barns (NHER 11060). Dendrochronology has revealed that the timbers for the hall were felled in 1355 to 1360 fitting well with this interpretation. The building was a raised aisle hall of exceptional high quality with much of the original fabric surviving. Excavations here in 1992 revealed medieval and post medieval drainage channels and wells. No features relating to the building of the house were identified.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TM 289 885
Map Sheet:TM28NE
Parish:DENTON, SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

East Hall (previously known as Lodge Farm).
Moat (Lodge Farm).
E. Rose (NAU).

(S1) lists building as Grade II 17th century timber frame, but source [1] reports 1992 that it is in fact a 13th century aisled hall. Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission grant obtained for emergency recording.
Information from A. Rogerson (NLA).
E. Rose (NLA), 10 July 1992.

July 1992. Visit.
Building is a raised aisled hall (part demolished) reverting to an aisled hall at one end. Mouldings are of a type found elsewhere around 1500 and original building had large bay windows, making date of 1300 debateable. Clearly a very important building either as an early example of mouldings and glazed windows or a late example of an aisled hall. Later windows of about 1600 inserted with stack and upper floor.
See (S2) in file and further discussion of dating.
E. Rose (NLA), 27 July 1992.

1992. Building Survey and Documentary Research.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 7 February 2022.

1993. Dendrochronological Survey.
Tree-ring analysis of sample from farmhouse resulted in the production of a felling date for the primary phase timbers of circa AD 1355-1360.
See report (S3) for further details.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 10 March 2015.

August 1992 to February 1993. Excavation and Watching Brief.
Evaluation in area of new extention on the existing building which was identified as a raised aisled hall which dated to the 14th century. Also revealed were medieval and post medieval ditches, wells and pottery, however there was no evidence relating to original construction.
See report (S4) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S5) and (S6).
E. Rose (NLA), 28 September 1993 amended by M. Langham-Lopez (HES), 28 June 2013.

Southeast arm about 60 metres long, about 8 metres wide. Southwest arm about 50 metres long, about 5-6 metres wide. Northwest arm reed filled. Northeast arm and to north of entrance moats infilled. All extant arms hold water, as does pond northwest of farm buildings. (Site no longer called Lodge Farm, changed to East Hall).
H. Paterson (A&E), 29 June 2000.

2018. Oxygen Isotope Dendrochronology.
Two timbers that had previously been securely dated by ring-width dendrochronology (see above) were sampled for oxygen isotope analysis. This work was undertaken as part of an initiative to investigate the practical extent of the south-central England chronology for isotopic dating.
This initial study suggests that, at present, secure dating using oxygen isotope measurements may be possible in this region, but may not routinely be obtained from short series of isotopic measurements on single timbers.
See (S7) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 1 December 2021.

Monument Types

  • AISLED BUILDING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • DITCH (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • MANOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • MOAT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WELL (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • TIMBER FRAMED BUILDING (Medieval to 19th Century - 1355 AD to 1853 AD)

Associated Finds

  • BRICK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • BRICK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Drawing: Various. Various. Architectural plans.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, B. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. pp 278-279.
---Unpublished Contractor Report: Heywood, S., Smith. R and Davison, A. 1993. Lodge Farm, Denton, Norfolk. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 25.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Medieval. Denton.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Slide: Various. Slide.
---Fiche: Exists.
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
---Designation: English Heritage. 1990-2013. English Heritage Listing Notification. Notification. DNF10086.
---Photograph: FVL 17-23.
<S1>Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry Unknown.
<S2>Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 1992. Building Report.. Building Report. 30 November.
<S3>Unpublished Contractor Report: Groves, C. and Hillam, J. 1993. Tree-ring Analysis of Oak Timbers from Lodge Farm, Denton, Norfolk. Ancient Monuments Laboratory. 85/93.
<S4>Unpublished Contractor Report: Wallis, H. 1993. Report of a Watching Brief and Excavation at Lodge Farm, Denton, 1993. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 18.
<S5>Monograph: Loader, N. J., Davis, D., McCarroll, D., Miles, D., Tyers, C. and Young, G. H. F. 2021. Lodge Farmhouse, Middle Road, Denton, Norfolk. Oxygen Isotope Dendrochronology of Oak Timbers. Historic England Research Report Series. 6-2021.
<S5>Article in Serial: Nenk, B. S., Margeson, S. and Hurley, M. 1993. Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1992. Medieval Archaeology. Vol XXXVII pp 240-313. p 274.
<S6>Article in Serial: Gurney, D. (ed.). 1993. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1992. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLI Pt IV pp 522-532. p 526.

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