Steeton Hall medieval magnate's residence and manorial centre

Reasons for Designation

Magnates' residences are high status dwellings of domestic rather than military character. They date from the Norman Conquest (in some cases forming a continuation of a Saxon tradition) and throughout the rest of the medieval period. Individual residences were in use for varying lengths of time; some continued in use into the post-medieval period. Such dwellings were the houses or palaces of royalty, bishops and the highest ranks of the nobility, usually those associated with the monarch. They functioned as luxury residences for the elite and their large retinues, and provided an opportunity to display wealth in the form of elaborate architecture and lavish decoration. As such, these palaces formed an impressive setting for audiences with royalty, foreign ambassadors and other lords and bishops. Magnates' residences are located in both rural and urban areas. Bishops' residences are usually in close association with cathedrals, and all residences tend to be located close to good communication routes. Unless constrained by pre-existing structures, magnates' residences comprised an elaborate series of buildings, usually of stone, that in general included a great hall, chambers, kitchens, service rooms, lodgings, a chapel and a gatehouse, arranged around a single or double courtyard. As a consequence of the status of these sites, historic documentation is often prolific, and can be of great value for establishing the date of construction and subsequent alterations to the buildings, and for investigating the range of activities for which the site was a focus. Magnates' residences are widely dispersed throughout England reflecting the mobility of royalty and the upper echelons of the nobility. There is a concentration of sites which reflects the growing importance of London as a political centre, and the majority of magnates' residences tend to be located in the south of the country. Despite their wide distribution, magnates' residences are a relatively rare form of monument due to their special social status. At present only around 236 examples have been identified of which 150 are ecclesiastical palaces and 86 are connected with royalty. Magnates' residences generally provide an emotive and evocative link with the past, especially through their connections with famous historical figures, and can provide a valuable educational resource, both with respect to the organisation and display of political power, and wider aspects of medieval and post- medieval society such as the development of towns and industries and the distribution of dependent agricultural holdings. Examples with surviving archaeological potential are considered to be of national importance.

In common with other medieval complexes, magnates' residences would also have a range of formal and ornate gardens by or near the house often falling within the curtain wall. Gardens were both functional and decorative. There would be a kitchen garden for producing food and a herb garden which had a medicinal as well as a culinary use. In the formal and decorative garden there may be terraces and walled enclosures which contained raised beds and pedestals for plant holders and statues, linked by pathways and, in larger gardens, rides. Within the pleasure gardens of the wealthy a wide range of ornamental but functional buildings would exist depending on the size and style of the garden. In early gardens these seem to have been limited to galleries and elaborate entrances but by the 16th century the buildings included, pavilions, summerhouses, stands, grottoes, belvederes, grandstands, kennels, gazebos, banqeting houses and prospect mounds. Gardens at high status secular buildings were positioned so they were overlooked by private chambers and rooms of relaxation within the building and in some cases it seems that the house and garden would be designed and planned in tandem. As with the architecture of their houses, gardens of the wealthy were created for prestige and as status symbols.

High status medieval centres worked as agricultural units for domestic consumption. A common element of which was the fishpond. These were artificially created pools of slow moving freshwater constructed to cultivate, breed and store fish. Fishponds were maintained by a water management system which regulated water supply by sluices and leats.

The remaining structures and earthworks at Steeton Hall survive well and significant buried archaeological remains will be preserved throughout the monument. The gatehouse survives particularly well and important information about the architectural details are preserved within the fabric. The fishpond as well as the earthworks in the outer precinct offers important information about the wider economic functions of the monument and the development of a high status domestic complex in the medieval and post-medieval periods.

Details

The monument includes the site of the magnate's residence and manorial centre of Steeton Hall and the upstanding medieval gatehouse. Included in the scheduling are earthwork remains of the precinct wall, which surrounded the manorial complex and further earthwork remains of structures and garden terraces, both within the precinct and immediately adjacent to it. Upstanding garden and field walls within the precinct area are also included. The monument lies on the southern side of shallow valley with the hall and gatehouse lying on level ground and the precinct extending into the surrounding fields. Part of the medieval Steeton Hall still stands, but has been added to and altered, particularly in the 17th and 19th centuries. It is Listed Grade I and is not included in the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

Steeton Hall stood at the centre of a complex of domestic and agricultural structures lying within a large enclosure known as a precinct which was defined by a wall. A gatehouse providing access into the precinct still stands and is Listed Grade I and is also in the guardianship of the Secretary of State. Within the precinct was a smaller inner enclosure which contained the hall itself and the immediate domestic buildings such as staff lodgings and kitchens. In the outer precinct a range of structures associated with the wider agricultural and economic functions of the manorial centre such as stables, workshops, stores and barns would have been located.

In the north western section of the precinct are a series of stone revetted terraces orientated north to south which are interpreted as remains of garden terraces. These would have included formal and informal flower beds and may have housed plinths for statues and structures such as stands and summerhouses.

The precinct wall survives as a low bank extending eastward from the gatehouse for 100m, turning south for 110m then westward for 270m then northwards towards the stream. In some places stone footings for the wall are visible along the bank and in one place east of the gatehouse 3 courses of stonework survive above ground level. At the northern end of the precinct the stream occupies a deep moat-like cutting, interpreted as an artificially enhanced natural stream bed. This served as a precinct boundary along this side.

Further building platforms survive as slight earthwork features to the north east of the gatehouse. Within the north eastern corner of the monument an earthern bank crosses the line of the stream forming a small, now dry, fishpond. The stream has been channeled by stone revetting and a stone abutment on the edge of it are the remains of a sluice for controlling water flow. Within the south eastern section of the precinct are earthwork remains of building platforms.

A low wall to the north east of Steeton Cottage has a series of 17th century arched bee boles built into it. These were alcoves to protect bee hives from the weather. This wall, along with others on the site of the 17th century or earlier date, are included in the scheduling.

The gatehouse still stands complete. It dates to c1360 and is a two storey rectangular structure with a central archway and a small side passage. There are two chambers on the first floor, the larger of which is reached by a spiral staircase and the smaller by an external stair on the south east side. The top of the gatehouse is crenellated and decorated with gargoyles and coats of arms and crests carved onto stone shields.

Steeton Hall is a complex building the core of which dates to the 14th century. The 14th century building is thought to have been much larger than the fragment surviving today and buried remains indicating the full extent and nature of this medieval building will survive beneath and adjacent to the later additions. The latter are 17th century and later in date. The range of stone farm buildings north of the hall were constructed in the late 17th century and may have been built on the footings of earlier structures. They are Listed Grade II and are not included in the scheduling. The core of Steeton Cottage is also thought to date to the 17th century and was altered in the 19th.

Steeton manorial centre was one of the manors of the barony of Sherburn and was purchased by the Reygate family in 1261. The hall and the gatehouse were built in the 14th century probably by William de Reygate who was Escheator to the king for the county of York and it was during this time that the manorial centre flourished. The site was then neglected for many years until 1642 when it was occupied by the Foljambe family. The site was substantially re-modelled in the 17th century when the hall was added to, the farm buildings and bee bole wall were constructed and the gardens rebuilt. Much of this activity reused the existing earlier features.

The gatehouse and adjoining walls and Steeton Hall are Listed Grade I and the barn, granary and cartshed north east of the hall are Listed Grade II. Steeton Hall, the farm buildings, the modern barns, garages, Steeton Cottage, fences, surfaces of paths, tracks and yards and the bridge are all excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

28240

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Ryder, J, Medieval Buildings of Yorkshire, (1982), 118-122
Foster, A M, Bee boles and Bee Houses, (1988)
Kitson, S D, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal in Steeton Hall, (1910)
Kitson, S D, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal in Steeton Hall, (1910), 203-207

Other
Listed building entry, Gatehouse to Steeton Hall, (1986)
EH IAM, Ette, J, (1995)

End of official list entry

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