Wenham Castle (Little Wenham Hall)

Summary

A fortified manor house dating from C13, it is L-shaped in plan with a stair turret in the angle that gives access to the upper levels and the roof. It has a vaulted undercroft, a first-floor hall, and a chapel to the north-east, with a chamber above. A string course runs around the entire building but stops before the south-west corner where it is thought another building was once attached.

Reasons for Designation

Wenham Castle (Little Wenham Hall) is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Rarity: with fewer than 200 identified nationally, it is a rare surviving example of a medieval fortified house;

* Survival: as a substantial and well-preserved building surviving to roof height with potential buried remains;

* Potential: there is good potential for the survival of significant deposits which will provide information to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the site and the wider landscape in which it functioned;

* Documentation: the existence of documentary evidence enhances our understanding of the importance of the site;

* Group value: for the strong spatial group value that the monument holds with the C13 Church of St Lawrence (listed Grade I) to the north and Little Wenham Hall Farmhouse (listed Grade II) to the west. Together they represent the changing phases and status of the site from medieval to early modern society.

History

Fortified houses were residences belonging to some of the richest and most powerful members of society. Their design reflects a combination of domestic and military elements. In some instances, the fortifications may be cosmetic additions to an otherwise conventional high-status dwelling, giving a military aspect while remaining practically indefensible. They are associated with individuals or families of high status and their architecture often reflects a high level of expenditure. The nature of the fortification varies, but can include moats, curtain walls, a gatehouse and other towers, arrow loops or (in later examples) gunports and crenellated parapets. Their buildings normally included a hall used as communal space for domestic and administrative purposes, kitchens, service and storage areas. In later houses the owners had separate private living apartments, these often received particular architectural emphasis. In common with castles, some fortified houses had outer courts beyond the main defences in which stables, brew houses, granaries and barns were located. Fortified houses were constructed in the medieval period, primarily between the 15th and 16th centuries, although evidence from earlier periods, such as the increase in the number of licences to crenellate in the reigns of Edward I and Edward II, indicates that the origins of the class can be traced further back. They are found primarily in several areas of lowland England: in upland areas they are outnumbered by structures such as bastles and tower houses which fulfilled many of the same functions. As a rare monument type, with fewer than 200 identified examples, all examples exhibiting significant surviving archaeological remains are considered of national importance.

The fortified house known as Little Wenham Castle, dates from around 1260–1280 and is considered one of the earliest, largely brick-built structures in England. The brickwork varies in size and colour but is predominantly yellow and the quantity of bricks indicates that they must have been made locally rather than imported from the low countries. Its exact origins are unclear, with possible builders including Sir John de Vaux (overlord from 1270), his daughter Petronilla de Nerford (who lived around 1259-1326), or their tenant Master Roger de Holebrook (active 1270–1295). Architectural similarities between Wenham Castle and the nearby Church of St Lawrence suggest that the two are contemporary and were conceived as part of the same scheme.

Despite its name, Little Wenham Castle is a house and not a castle. It is fortified but would not have been able to withstand any serious assault. It is considered an important example of how lordly residences evolved, from castle keeps to fortified manor houses, marking a key stage in the development of the English manor house. The ‘J’ shaped moat to the south and west of the monument is unlikely to have been a true defensive feature and it is likely that it served more as a garden or precinct boundary, a fishpond or millpond. It is unlikely there was ever a full moat given that the rising ground to the east and north would have made a continuous circuit difficult to construct.

A 1512 description refers to ‘a hall with a vault of lime and stone, with a tower of the same and different rooms joined onto the hall, and connecting with a kitchen larder-house built under a roof with other rooms under and above'. These additional structures, now lost, appear to have joined the main range at the south-west corner, evidenced by a break in the plinth and string course, and the absence of angle buttresses found on other corners. There may also have been a timber garderobe block to the south-east. Comparison with similar buildings suggest it is likely that the surviving stone building comprised a first-floor chamber, effectively a solar, and that the room over the chapel was a bedchamber.

The building underwent alterations in the C16 by John Brewse as is evidenced by the date stone that reads ‘cecy fait a l’aide de Dieu lan de grace 1569 J.B’ which translates to ‘this is done with the help of God in the year of grace 1569’. These alterations seem to have taken place at about the same time that Little Wenham Hall Farmhouse and the tithe barn were built, perhaps indicating a change of use for the old hall. Scratched on one of the upstairs door jambs is ‘Vale 1584’ which translates to ‘Farewell’. It is around 1584 that Sir John’s son Robert Brewse left Little Wenham for Topcroft in Norfolk.

Brothers Frederick and George Crisp purchased the property around 1884 and carried out further repairs and restorations in the C19 and C20. A timber stair to the first floor west doorway was added in the C20 by Major A T C Binny. 

Little Wenham Castle was included in the Schedule in October 1936 and later listed at Grade I in February 1955.

In November 2007 geophysical surveys (magnetometer, resistivity, and ground penetrating radar) were undertaken over approximately 0.4ha of land around Little Wenham Castle. The results identified several anomalies of an archaeological origin.

In 2015 three trial trenches were dug against the north and east of the building which revealed a post-medieval floor at 600mm depth, thought to be associated with a C19 outbuilding.

In 2017, excavation of three drainage pits and trenches to the west and north of the hall revealed post-medieval brick and tile fragments and a possible quarry or rubbish pit 15m north-west of the hall.

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: A fortified manor house dating from C13, it is L-shaped in plan with a stair turret in the angle that gives access to the upper levels and the roof. It has a vaulted undercroft, a first-floor hall, and a chapel to the north-east, with a chamber above. A string course runs around the entire building but stops before the south-west corner where it is thought another building was once attached.

Little Wenham Castle is also referred to as Little Wenham Hall however, the C16 farmhouse to the west is also called Little Wenham Hall Farmhouse, and to the north is an early C20 house also called Little Wenham Hall. To avoid confusion with other buildings in close proximity the monument is referred to as Little Wenham Castle.

DESCRIPTION: The monument includes the standing and buried remains of a medieval fortified manor house.

Little Wenham Castle sits within a multi-phased complex of historic buildings to the north-west of Capel St Mary. The surrounding area is rural with agricultural fields to the north and east of the site and woodland to the south and west. The hall sits on a gentle north-south slope. The main complex is situated at about 37m to 42m AOD on land falling gently to the west and south towards the valley of an unnamed stream flowing southwards, eventually joining the Stour Estuary, east of Brantham.

The building dates to between 1260-1280 and is rectangular with a relatively large tower to the east of the north-east corner forming an L-shaped plan. Most of the building is predominantly of yellow brick of different sizes, thought to have been made locally. Flint has been used for the base of the walls and Caen stone for the buttresses. A string course runs around the entire building suggesting it is complete though it stops before the south-west corner where a wing is said to have been added in the C16 and demolished in C18. The roofs are all crenellated but the main range, chapel range and stair turret all sit at different heights.

Beginning in the undercroft, this space features a ribbed quadripartite vault supported by engaged hexagonal stone columns and a flag stone floor. There are four lancet windows, one in the north wall, one in the east and two in the west wall, all deeply recessed within a pointed arch. Access to the undercroft is provided by two timber doors, one at the southern end and another adjacent on the west side. Both retain historic ironwork, although the western door may be a later addition from the C16. To the north end of the undercroft, on the east side through an arched doorway is a small square room, again featuring a vault with stone columns and flag stone floor. On the north and east walls there are two lancet windows.  
 
A stone spiral staircase leads up to the chapel. This has a thin rib-vaulted ceiling, which rests upon corbels, two of which have stiff leaf capitals and carved faces. On the central boss is a carved figure, thought to be St Petronilla. There are four windows in the chapel, that on the eastern wall is a three-light lancet window with plate tracery of quatrefoil circles. There are two lancet windows opposing each other on the north and south walls. Both are deeply set within pointed arches. In addition, on the north wall there is a small lancet window in an alcove with a timber shutter. Below the eastern window is a stone altar, which is a later addition. On the south wall, is an angle piscina with two pointed-trefoiled arches and directly opposite on the north wall is an aumbry. On the west wall is an arched doorway flanked by two internal two-light lancet windows.  
 
The doorway leads through to a large first-floor room, often referred to as the hall, which sits directly above the undercroft. This room is slightly larger due to the walls being thinner and has a C16 timber roof, and red tiled flooring. There are four large lancet windows, one on each wall, all of which have two lights with plate tracery, including un-encircled tracery and trefoils and are recessed within a pointed arch. Below each window there is an inset stone window seat. On the south wall, adjacent to the window is a drain set within a Perpendicular ogee arch. In the west wall there is a large red-brick fireplace with a stone surround and timber mantle. In addition to the access from the chapel, there are two doors on the south and west walls which correspond to the undercroft entrances and are accessed by an external timber staircase. Both are timber and retain historic ironwork. In the east wall there is also a blocked-up doorway, which is thought to have led to a garderobe.  
 
On the second floor, sitting above the chapel is a small chamber with a timber roof. There are two windows, one on the north wall and another opposite on the south wall with Y-tracery on polygonal shafts.  
 
To the south-west corner of the monument, it is believed there was a timber hall. The below ground remains have a high archaeological potential if analysed scientifically to further our understanding of the monument and it is therefore included in the scheduled area.

Further buried archaeological evidence and environmental remains associated with the gardens are likely survive in and around the house but are insufficiently understood and not therefore included in the scheduling. To the south-west of the hall there is a J-shaped body of water which post-dates the house, thought to be a millpond and which again does not form part of the scheduling.  

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: the area of protection is shown on the attached map and is designed to protect the full extent of Wenham Castle (Little Wenham Hall). It includes a 5m buffer zone considered necessary for the support and preservation of the monument.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

SF 23

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
Ditchfield, P.H, Little Wenham Hall in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Vol. 34.1, (1928), 30-3
Jackson, S, Little Wenham Hall in Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History, Vol. 2, (1859), 183-8
Martin, E, Little Wenham Hall: A Reinterpretation in Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History, Vol. 39(2), (1998), 151-164
Martin, E, Geophysical surveys at Little Wenham Hall’ in The Eavesdropper: The newsletter of the Suffolk Historic Buildings Group, Vol. 39, (2009), 29-31
Quiney, A, Hall or Chamber? That is the question. The use of rooms in post-Conquest houses in Architectural History, Vol. 42, (1999), 24-46
Wood, M.E, Little Wenham Hall in Archaeological Journal, Vol. 108, (1950), 190-1
Turner, T.H, Little Wenham Hall, Suffolk in Some account of domestic architecture in England, Vol. 1, (1851), 151-3
Rumble, A, Domesday Book: Suffolk, 2 vols, (1986)
Smith, JT, Faulkner, PA, Emery, A, Studies in Medieval Domestic Architecture, (1975), 88

Other
Copinger, W.A. 1910 The Manors of Suffolk: Notes on their history and devolution, Volume 6 (The hundreds of Samford, Stow, and Thedwestry). Privately published
Crisp, F. A. 1902 Fragmenta Genealogica, VIII,16-74. Privately printed, London
Crisp, F.A. c. 1910 Little Wenham Hall. Privately printed, London
Newman, J. 2016 ‘Little Wenham Hall, Hall Lane, Little Wenham, Suffolk - Archaeological Monitoring Report’, typescript report
Newman, J. 2015 ‘Little Wenham Hall, Hall Lane, Wenham Parva, Suffolk - Archaeological Monitoring Report’, typescript report
Smalley, R. 2008 ‘Geophysical Survey Report: Little Wenham Hall, Capel St Mary [sic]’, typescript report

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