Reasons for Designation
Medieval great houses were the residences of high-status non-Royal households.
They had domestic rather than military functions and show little or no sign of
fortification, even of a purely cosmetic nature. Great houses share several of
the characteristics of royal palaces, and in particular shared similar
characteristics of size, sophistication, and decoration of the architecture.
Great houses usually consist of a group of buildings, including a great hall,
service rooms, one or more kitchens, several suites of chambers for the
owners, the household and its guests, and a gatehouse. Other ancillary
buildings are known to have been present but very rarely survive. Earlier
examples typically comprised a collection of separate buildings, but through
the 14th and 15th century there was increasing integration of the buildings
into a few larger buildings. By the later medieval period, such complexes were
commonly laid out around one or more formal courtyards; in the 16th century
this would occasionally be contrived so that the elevations were symmetrical.
Many great houses are still notable for the high quality of their architecture
and for the opulence of their furnishings. Several examples contain
substantially intact buildings, others consist of ruins or complexes of
earthworks.
Great houses are found throughout England, although there is a concentration
in the south and Midlands. Further north, great houses were more heavily
fortified, reflecting more unsettled political and social conditions, but
their domestic purpose and status were still predominant. Fewer than 250
examples of great houses have been identified. As a rare monument class which
provide an important insight into the lives of medieval aristocratic or gentry
households, all examples will be nationally important.
Medieval rural settlements in England were marked by great regional diversity
in form, size and type, and the protection of their archaeological remains
needs to take these differences into account. To do this, England has been
divided into three broad Provinces on the basis of each area's distinctive
mixture of nucleated and dispersed settlements. These can be further divided
into sub-Provinces and local regions, possesing characteristics which have
gradually evolved during the past 1500 years or more.
The East Durham Plateau local region is a limestone upland partly covered by
glacial clays. The upper part of the plateau was almost devoid of settlement
until the creation of the late 19th century mining communities, but ancient
villages occupy the varied soils of the western sub-Provincial boundary, and
can be found along the north-south routes just inland from the coast. Towards
the southern edge and the Tees Valley where this great house lies, there has
been significant settlement depopulation.
Despite the fact that with the exception of the `de Brus Wall', the monument
has been levelled and survives below ground as a buried foundations, the great
house at Hart retains significant archaeological deposits. As a rare monument
type and the documented holding of an important national figure, it will
contribute greatly to our knowledge and understanding of the evolution of late
Saxon and medieval manorial complexes. It will also contribute to our
understanding of the medieval settlement pattern of the Tees Valley.
Details
The monument includes the buried and fragmentary upstanding remains of a
manorial complex of late Saxon and medieval date, and part of a post-medieval
farm, situated on a low narrow ridge immediately west of Hart parish church.
This type of medieval building complex is also known as a great house. The
complex was owned from the 12th to the 16th centuries by the de Brus and
Clifford Lords. The south wall of one of the medieval buildings, known as the
`de Brus Wall', is a Listed Building Grade II. The associated fishponds,
situated in the field immediately to the north of the monument, are the
subject of a separate scheduling.
The manor of Hart and Harterness was granted by the king to Robert de Brus
after the Norman Conquest. Documents indicate that the extent of this manor
was larger in pre-Conquest times. Throughout its history, the right of
disposal of the manor was a source of dispute between the Crown and the Bishop
of Durham. The manor subsequently descended through the Brus family most
notably to Robert de Brus VII; after the latter's assumption to the Scottish
throne in 1306, Edward I granted the manor to Robert de Clifford in whose
family it remained until 1580, with only brief interruption by claims from a
number of bishops. In 1580 the manor was sold to Robert Petrie and John Morley
and then to the Lumley family who, with the exception of a brief period of
administration by Parliament from 1644-1660, retained it until 1770. In 1770
the estate was sold to the Milbank family.
The plan of the complex was uncovered by excavation between 1965-7 and 1972-3,
when it was shown to have had a series of phases of occupation. The first
phase is represented by evidence for Anglo-Saxon occupation; this was visible
as the gullies, post-holes, trenches and pits of timber buildings and
enclosures, associated with pottery dating from the 10th to 12th centuries.
Although the exact nature of this occupation is uncertain, it is contemporary
with the earliest phase of the adjacent parish church. During excavation in
1972, a length of ditch 400m to the west was uncovered; this ditch, situated
to the west of the monument, was aligned with the south wall of the churchyard
and was interpreted as part of a large, rectangular pre-Conquest enclosure
which contained both the church and the Saxon settlement. The length of ditch,
which was infilled and built over, was a maximum of 2.5m wide and 0.9m deep
and had contained timber uprights.
The medieval stone manor complex evolved from its timber predecessor during a
re-organisation of the complex in the second phase of occupation which ended
in the middle of the 13th century. Its original layout, as revealed by
excavation, comprised two rectangular stone buildings with a series of
enclosures in between, although further remains are known to exist to the east
beneath the present churchyard. The first building is situated at the extreme
eastern side of the monument, where it partially underlies the western
boundary of the churchyard. The second building is situated at the south
western side of the monument, is L-shaped in plan and is interpreted as a hall
with wing chambers. Excavation revealed that the area between these two
buildings was occupied by a regular pattern of trenches interpreted as small
garden plots. Several large pits were also present in this area.
During the late 13th and early 14th centuries the basic layout of the manorial
complex was established; it comprised three main buildings. The south wall of
the first, situated in the south western part of the monument, is visible as
an upstanding length of wall with a fragment of the south end of the west wall
of the building attached. The wall, known as the `de Brus Wall' is 12.2m long,
0.5m thick and stands to a maximum height of 5.5m. It is constructed of good
quality stonework and there are three corbels on the exterior face which
indicate the level of a first floor. There are three windows at first floor
level; the most westerly is a pointed trefoil thought to be 13th or 14th
century in date. Immediately to the east there is a second window, rectangular
in shape with internal splays, of 16th or 17th century date. The western side
of the third window, which is situated further east, indicates that this is an
original medieval opening. There is a doorway at the western end of the wall
which is a later insertion replacing an earlier door in the same position. A
plinth course 1.10m above ground level runs around the exterior face of the
wall. The buried foundations of the remainder of this building survive below
ground level. Immediately to the north of this building lie the buried
foundations of the main hall of the 13th and 14th century manor. This is a
large rectangular building orientated north to south, with two small chambers
attached to its north end interpreted as a chapel and parlour. Immediately to
its east a third building was uncovered by excavation and was visible as a
large, buttressed, rectangular building interpreted as an aisled hall of three
bays. The area to the north of this building and to the east of the first
building was occupied by an open, cobbled space interpreted as a courtyard,
which became partially enclosed by walls in the 14th century; this 14th
century modification was part of a wider expansion which occurred in the first
half of the 14th century and included the refurbishment of the main hall,
including the creation of an upper storey, and the eastward extension of the
aisled hall. During this phase a ditch 10.8m wide and 3.7m deep was dug across
the neck of the ridge immediately to the west of the manor house; it is
thought that this was to give added defence to the manorial complex.
Excavation of part of this ditch in 1967 showed that it had become infilled
with silt by the 15th century.
The complex was further modified during the mid-15th century when the aisled
hall was extended by the addition of a rectangular building at its east end.
At the same time the main hall was abandoned and it is thought that the aisled
hall then functioned as the main hall of the manor house.
During the 16th century the focus of the manor moved to the area immediately
south of the monument which has subsequently been levelled and built over. The
area of the medieval manorial complex became part of the manor's post-medieval
farm which was constructed to the west of the monument, and contained a
variety of farm buildings including yards, barns and dairies. The farm and its
outbuildings remained in use until 1952 when they were largely dismantled; the
east and north wall of the farm remain standing and the former serves as the
western wall of the graveyard.
The fences around the school field, all kerbs and the surfaces of all roads,
drives and pathways, all lamp posts, all gates and gate posts are 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.
