Medieval moated site, remains of Sturston Hall and associated outbuildings and Holy Cross Church and churchyard

Summary

Medieval moated site, the standing and buried remains of Sturston Hall and the associated outbuildings and Holy Cross Church.

Reasons for Designation

The site of Sturston Hall and Holy Cross Church is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Period: the medieval moated site, medieval church and Elizabethan hall are highly representative of the medieval and post-medieval periods;

* Survival: the moat is a good example of its type with the principal features surviving well as clearly defined earthworks. Low earthworks to the west of the moated platform indicate the buried remains of Sturston Hall and its outbuildings to the south-west. The remains of Holy Cross Church and its churchyard survive as buried earthworks south of the moated platform;

* Potential: there is good evidence for the survival of significant archaeological deposits including structural remains, artefactual evidence, waterlogged organic material and buried medieval land surface beneath the banks. Together these have the potential to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the medieval and post-medieval settlement and the wider social and economic landscape in which it functioned;

* Diversity of features: the range and diversity of features represented on the site provide a stratigraphical and chronological depth of archaeological deposits, and consequently contribute to knowledge and understanding of the medieval and post-medieval evolution of the settlement;

* Group value: for its proximity to other scheduled monuments in the wider landscape, including a moated site and part of the medieval settlement of Tottington (NHLE 1003949).

History

The majority of moated sites served as prestigious aristocratic and seigneurial residences with the provision of a moat intended as a status symbol rather than a practical military defence. Although moated sites were built throughout the medieval period and are widely scattered throughout England, the peak period during which moated sites were built was between about 1250 and 1350, and by far the greatest concentration lies in central and eastern parts of England.

Sturston is a small parish with an area of 778 hectares. A settlement at Sturston was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, again in the Nomina Villorum of 1316, and in 1332 nineteen taxpayers were recorded at Sturston. The moated site survives from this period, with a moated platform measuring approximately 45 metres in width and length. In 1597 Edward Jermyn, then Lord of the Manor, was accused of trying to acquire glebelands (church property) which consisted of around 400 acres of arable land and a foldcourse for 500 sheep. It was recorded that Jermyn pulled down all the existing dwellings except the parsonage, ploughed up ancient boundaries, made some ditches, and converted all the commons of Sturston to his own use. It is believed that these reputed actions resulted in the depopulation of the medieval settlement.

The manor of Sturston and lands in Sturston, Tottington, and Stanford were conveyed by John Jermyn Esq. to Nicholas Bedingfield Esq., Francis Bedingfield Esq., Francis Bedingfield gent., and Francis Bedingfield gent. son of Henry Bedingfield Esq., in exchange for the manor of Bigottes in West Tofts in 1624. In 1629 the other purchasers relinquished their claim to Francis son of Henry Bedingfield. It was probably after this transfer that the south and west arms of the moat were filled in, and Sturston Hall, a late-Elizabethan hall, was constructed at the west end of a medieval moated site for William Bedingfield. Finally following various mortgages and settlements by the Bedingfields, it was sold by John Bedingfield to William Bullock with the manor in 1729. Thomas Bullock entered into various mortgages, which were assigned to William de Grey in 1769-70, when he purchased the freehold. In 1770 Mary widow of Thomas Bullock released an annuity to de Grey. 

Sturston House is depicted on Fadens Map of Norfolk in 1797, with a ‘Church in Ruins’ directly to the south. In 1805 Blomefield recorded that the manor house survived, but that the rest of the village had been demolished. Sturston Hall and its outbuildings are shown on the 1884 Ordnance Survey map, with gardens laid out to the east of the hall on the moated platform. The north and east arms of the moat are shown as being water-filled, with tree growth on the internal banks. The hall is recorded as having crowstepped gables, one with the initials of William Bedingfield, under who the hall may have been constructed or extended. It is likely that the buildings became ruinous and were dismantled in the early C20, before the lands were transferred into military use around 1940. The remains of the late-Elizabethan Hall now survive as earthworks, and standing remains of the outbuilding survive to the south and south-west.

The moated site was first scheduled in 1970, and a six-pointed star was erected on the monument in the late C20, to prevent damage from military training exercises.

Holy Cross Church is mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086 but was depopulated by the late C16. The chancel and tower were in ruins by 1738, and the base of the tower survives as grass covered earthworks with some masonry visible through the turf. ‘Excursions through Norfolk’ in 1819 described the church as having a nave, ruined west tower and chancel foundations. Holy Cross Church was scheduled in 1970.

Details

Medieval moated site, the standing and buried remains of Sturston Hall and the associated outbuildings and Holy Cross Church.

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: The moated site comprises a moated platform measuring approximately 45 x 45 metres, surrounded by a ditch or moat approximately 10 metres wide and 2.5 metres in depth from the platform and remains water-filled. An outer bank survives to the exterior of the north and east arms of the moat. It is believed that the south and west arms of the moat were infilled when the Elizabethan hall was constructed on the western boundary of the moated site, and gardens were laid out on the moated platform. The remains of a rubble and brick wall stand on the north boundary of the platform, and a fragment of wall survives on the southern boundary, possibly built when the gardens were laid out. At the time of a site visit (2015) the interior of the moated platform was overgrown with willow, nettles and other vegetation.
Low earthworks to the west of the moated platform indicate the buried remains of Sturston Hall with its outbuildings to the south-west. The walls are mainly constructed of red brick, faced with flint and with red brick dressings, and some sections survive up to 2 metres in height. Approximately 80 metres south-west of the moated platform, the standing remains of the south wall of a building survive to approximately 4 metres in height, constructed of red brick and faced with coursed flint, with red brick quoins. The stone frame of a tripartite window opening is evident at first floor level, surmounted by a pediment, and a moulded stone stringcourse between the ground and first floor.

The remains of Holy Cross Church survive as buried earthworks approximately 45 metres south of the moated platform. A few courses of masonry, visible above ground, appear to represent the north and west walls of the west tower, and are constructed of knapped flint and brick. On the ground sloping from the north wall of the tower, there are fragments of gravestones. A linear earthwork extends south of the tower and may represent a buried boundary wall.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: The scheduled area is marked on the attached map and includes a 5m buffer zone around the north, east and west side of the monument, which is 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:

NF 315

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Websites
National Archives, Deeds relating to Sturston, accessed 18 Feburary 2026 from http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/982348bd-ea77-42b6-8795-3344b28ed785
Norfolk Heritage Explorer, Parish Summary: Sturston, accessed 18 February 2026 from http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?TNF1697-Parish-Summary-Sturston-(Parish-Summary)

Other
Faden, W and Barringer, J C, Faden’s Map of Norfolk, (1797)

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