Site of medieval hall 130m south of Manor Farm

Reasons for Designation

Fortified houses were residences belonging to some of the richest and most powerful members of society. Their design reflects a combination of domestic and military elements. In some instances, the fortifications may be cosmetic additions to an otherwise conventional high status dwelling, giving a military aspect while remaining practically indefensible. They are associated with individuals or families of high status and their ostentatious architecture often reflects a high level of expenditure. The nature of the fortification varies, but can include moats, curtain walls, a gatehouse and other towers, gunports and crenellated parapets. Their buildings normally included a hall used as communal space for domestic and administrative purposes, kitchens, service and storage areas. In later houses the owners had separate private living apartments, these often receiving particular architectural emphasis. In common with castles, some fortified houses had outer courts beyond the main defences in which stables, brew houses, granaries and barns were located. Fortified houses were constructed in the medieval period, primarily between the 15th and 16th centuries, although evidence from earlier periods, such as the increase in the number of licences to crenellate in the reigns of Edward I and Edward II, indicates that the origins of the class can be traced further back. They are found primarily in several areas of lowland England: in upland areas they are outnumbered by structures such as bastles and tower houses which fulfilled many of the same functions. As a rare monument type, with fewer than 200 identified examples, all examples exhibiting significant surviving archaeological remains are considered of national importance.

Significant buried archaeological remains of the medieval fortified house and of earlier occupation will be preserved. The monument offers important scope for the study of medieval life and the changes in domestic arrangements over time.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a medieval hall located on a raised river terrace overlooking the River Nidd at the southern end of the village of Hunsingore. The monument occupies a knoll, the south and west sides formed by the natural lie of the land and the east side formed by a deep hollow way. The knoll has steep sides and a flat top which measures 80m east to west by 60m north to south. The foundations of the medieval hall survive as a sub-rectangular shaped earthwork up to 1.5m high in the centre of the site. To the south of the site of the hall there are terraces which are the remains of the formal gardens. There are further earthwork remains of ancillary buildings throughout the site. The hall is thought to have been built on the site of an earlier defensive earthwork or motte comanding the ancient river crossing. Little is known of the early history of the monument. The manor of Hunsingore was granted to the Knights Templar preceptory at nearby Ribston in 1217 and it may be that the earliest defensive site was a castrum of the order. After the dissolution of the preceptory in 1536 the manor was granted to Henry Goodricke. It was some time after the 1540s that the Goodricke family home was built on the site, probably utilising existing buildings. However, the hall did not last long and it is thought that it was destroyed during the Civil War in the 1640s. All fences and gates 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.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

29544

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Gilleghan, J, The Skyrack Express in Scenes from the Country, ()
Gilleghan, J, The Skyrack Express in Scenes From The Country, (1994)

End of official list entry

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