Adlingfleet medieval rectory, 60m south of All Saints Church

Overview

Location

Reasons for Designation

A medieval rectory was the official residence of a clergyman or rector who was the cleric in charge of a parish, college, religious house or congregation. The main components of a medieval rectory provided facilities for dwelling and would have included domestic ranges, some of which may have been grouped around a courtyard and may have contained offices and guest rooms. Additional features may also include ancillary outbuildings for agricultural use and storage, a precinct wall and a gatehouse. Medieval rectories contribute to our understanding of the organisation of the medieval church. Their buildings often include decoration and details which assist analysis and study of changes in church architecture. All surviving examples retaining significant medieval remains will be identified as nationally important. The stone building in Adlingfleet is a unique survival of a medieval domestic building in the region. Important buried remains of the medieval rectory will also survive elsewhere across the rest of the building platform and adjoining areas, along with well preserved organic deposits within the adjacent ditches and lower lying parts. The rectory's connection with John Le Franceys, who played a part in mid-13th century national politics, adds further importance to the monument.

Details

The monument includes the standing remains of a medieval stone building identified as the chamber built by John le Franceys, rector of Adlingfleet in the mid-13th century. The monument also includes the surrounding area which is considered to retain the buried remains of further medieval buildings and associated features of a medieval rectory. It stands on the west bank of the Old River Don, which was navigable in the Middle Ages, to the south of the mainly mid-13th century parish church. John le Franceys, who was a king's councillor as well as rector of Adlingfleet, is recorded as having demolished the church at Whitgift, just over 3km to the north west, in the mid-13th century and `scattering the stones of the sanctuary, caused them to be carried away to Adlingfleet and built a chamber for himself'. A pictorial map dating to c.1407 shows a stone building next to a church in Adlingfleet which has been taken to be a representation of the rectory. The rectory shows signs of having been adapted and modified several times over the centuries. The building, which is Listed Grade II*, has been roofless since c.1970. It is formed of two storeys of limestone ashlar and coursed rubble with a later inserted south gable wall of brick. It is has a 12th century style round-headed arched doorway on the west side and a number of other inserted openings, some of which have been blocked at a later date. The first floor has also been reset or inserted after the building's original construction. The limestone garden walling to the east of the medieval building is constructed from fallen stone. The building as it survives is only part of one range. The medieval rectory would have included further buildings, typically arranged around a courtyard, possibly with additional outbuildings and yards beyond. Buried remains of these buildings, together with rubbish pits and other features, are considered to survive throughout the raised platform upon which the building, and later brick built house and outbuildings to the north, stand. This building platform is prominent and its surface rises above that of the road to the north. It drops away to the south and west, with the lower area to the west retaining some slight earthworks indicating further buried remains. The area is bound to the south by a partly infilled drain and to the west by a shallow linear hollow up to 25m wide which is considered to be an infilled pond or moat ditch. A number of features are excluded from the scheduling; these include the later brick house and associated out buildings to the north of the medieval building and all modern fences and path surfaces; although the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

32636

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Record cards, Sites & Monuments Record, 6368, (1998)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.