Gate piers, gates and railings south of Cockfield Hall

Summary

Gate piers, gates and railings at south gateway of Cockfield Hall, erected in the mid-C19.

Reasons for Designation

The gateway and railings south of Cockfield Hall are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* for the architectural quality of the gateway, which illustrates the design ambitions and social pretensions of the Blois family in the early to mid- C19;
* for the quality of materials and craftsmanship employed in its manufacture and construction.

Historic interest:

* as a key design element of the historic designed landscape of Cockfield Hall, which has evolved over at least 800 years.

Group value:

* for the strong functional and historic group value it holds with the nearby Grade I-listed Cockfield Hall, a large number of listed estate structures, and the historic parkland and gardens of Cockfield Hall which is registered at Grade II. Together they form a strong ensemble of designated heritage assets of historic significance.

History

Cockfield manor and hall reputedly take their name from the Cockfeud family who held the lordship of the manor from at least the mid-C13, however the manor predates their lordship being one of those described in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The north wing of the Hall (listed at Grade I) survives from a mid-C16 manor house, and a surviving gatehouse (listed at Grade II*) and wall (listed at Grade II) were also constructed around that time, creating an inner or house court and a great or outer court to the north. In 1597 Cockfield Hall was purchased by Sir Robert Brooke, whose son remodelled the Hall in the Jacobean style between 1613 and 1614. After the marriage of Martha Brooke and Sir Charles Blois, 1st Baronet in 1693, Cockfield became the Blois family home until 1997. A great deal of improvement took place in the late C18 and early C19 during the ownership of Sir John Blois 5th Baronet (1740-1810) and Sir Charles Blois 6th Baronet (1766-1860).

The gateway and railings south of the Hall were probably erected in the mid-C19 and bear the Blois fleur-de-lis emblem. They are broadly contemporary with the single-storey gate lodges to the east and west, built in the early to mid-C19 and each listed at Grade II. The two lodges appear to be shown on the Tithe map of 1840, and the gated entrance is certainly shown on the 25-inch Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1883 and published in 1884.

Details

Gate piers, gates and railings at south gateway of Cockfield Hall, erected in the mid-C19.

MATERIALS: ashlar stone gate piers, and wrought-iron gates and railings with some cast-iron ornament.

PLAN: the pair of gate piers are square on plan, aligned north-west to south-east, with a vehicular gate between and a side-hung pedestrian gate to each side. The railings extend from the south-east pedestrian gate along the south boundary of the east gate lodge.

DESCRIPTION: the gate piers are square on plan and are constructed of ashlar stone with a pyramidal cap, cornice, shallow buttress to each side and plinth.
The vehicular and pedestrian gates each have a top rail with arrow-head finials, and lower urn-shaped finials between. Under the top rail are intermediate railings with fleur-de-lis finials over a round-arched mid-rail. A pair of bottom rails enclose a pair of oblong shapes between each railing, with an arrow-head finial over. The vehicular gate is side-hung on its right side and the pedestrian gates are side-hung on the gate piers; a kissing gate was added to the north-west gate, probably in the late C20 (not in the exact same design as the gates).

The railings run from the south-east pedestrian gate along the south side of the east lodge, and appear to be contemporary with and in the same style as the gates. They stand on a low brick plinth and, similar to the gates, the railings have arrow-head finials and lower urn shaped finials between. The top rail is supported by round-arched braces between each railing, and each sixteenth railing has an anthemion finial. The railings are supported from the rear by sweeping braces, and the railings incorporate a discreet side-hung pedestrian gate south of the lodge.

Sources

Books and journals
Bettley, J, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Suffolk: East, (2015)

Other
Tithe apportionment map (1840)
Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, surveyed in 1883 and published in 1884
Rolfe, J, Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, Report 2008/198 ‘Cockfield Hall A Desk Based Assessment’ (2008)

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