Site of Manorial Complex, Hall Farm, Waxham

Reasons for Designation

The manorial complex at Waxham survives in a rare degree of completeness and includes monuments capable of illustrating not only the layout of an early Post-Medieval manor farm but also the development of the manor through the later middle ages. The diversity of the monument classes represented within the Manorial complex is considerable, including Manor house, barn, fishponds/moat, dividing walls, precinct walls, church and graveyard, and this justifies a very high rating for importance compared with others in the region. Both contemporary and non-contemporary associations are represented in the diverse features, attributes of particular importance since documentary evidence exists to confirm the associations in some cases, making the complex of great historical potential. The ruined chancel is of architectural and archaeological importance. Finally, the potential for the preservation of archaeological and palaeo-environmental evidence is good, especially in the probable moat and beneath the surviving C.16th buildings.

Details

The monument comprises a medieval moated manorial complex surviving as low upstanding walls, earthwork features, ponds and extensive below ground deposits. Also evident is the ruined chancel of an earlier phase of St John's Church. (The ruined Chancel is located within the graveyard of St. John's Church). These various features either underlie or are adjacent to present buildings on the site. The latter include The Great Barn, Waxham Hall, St John's Church and an enclosing wall and Gatehouse all of late 16th century date. During the Middle Ages the manor belonged to the Ingham family. In the 16th century it was sold to the Woodhouse family who owned it until the 18th century. The major medieval manorial buildings noted above were probably built by Sir Thomas Woodhouse, first member of this family to own the site, and represent a major reconstruction of the earlier manor at this time. Please not that all the buildings within the scheduled area are excluded from the schedule except for the remains of the chancel to the immediate east of St John's Church. The ground beneath these buildings is scheduled. An area of the graveyard of St John's Church is also excluded from the schedule. The following buildings are protected as Listed Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest under Section 54 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971.

1. Waxham Hall - Listed Grade I 2. The Great Barn - Listed Grade I 3. Enclosing wall and Gatehouse to Waxham Hall where it projects southwards into the scheduled area towards the church - Listed Grade I 4. Subsidiary Garden Wall to Waxham Hall - Listed Grade II 5. Church of St. John - Listed Grade II*

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

12703

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Norfolk Archaeological Unit 1977, (1977)
Pagination 23 (Ref: 3/52), Listed Building Records, (1955)
Gregory, T., Waxham Gt. Barn: Evidence to Public Enquiry, February 1989,

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