2017

SK8329 : Croxton Kerrial 12thC Medieval Manor House: excavations (10)

taken 7 years ago, near to Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire, England

Croxton Kerrial 12thC Medieval Manor House: excavations (10)
Croxton Kerrial 12thC Medieval Manor House: excavations (10)
The garde-robe, (medieval toilet), on the outside of the private apartments wall. See also SK8329 : Croxton Kerrial 12thC Medieval Manor House: excavations (9)
The lord and lady of the manor would have had a private room beyond the great hall most likely with a solar/sleeping chamber above it. The garde-robe would have been accessed from a small room off the corner of the upstairs chamber. Waste products would have fallen down a purpose built channel on the outside of the building into a pit below, this photograph is looking down at the pit. Situated in a small courtyard between the manor house and the tithe barn the pit could be accessed from outside so the waste material can be dug out when full to be spread on the fields. A job for the lowest of the manor servants!
Croxton Kerrial Medieval Manor House

Although there are written records of a manorial dwelling in Croxton Kerrial from the 7th century, the last known historical records are from the mid 16th century, when there were reports of the house being uninhabitable. Any indication on maps of manor buildings had disappeared by the end of the 18th century. The exact position of the Manor in the village was unknown until Tony Connolly, the chairman of the Framland Local Archaeology Group (FLAG), began researching the history of the village.

Many local people had heard about the existence of a manor but no one was sure where it had been. However, tales of broken farm machinery during ploughing Pinfold Leys, a small field next to the village church, pointed to this as being the most likely site. In 2012, together with FLAG members, Tony Connolly carried out a geophysical survey discovering extensive remains under the field and over the following six years a band of FLAG volunteers, directed by Mr Connolly, have painstakingly excavated the extensive manorial site including a large cobbled crew yard, the house itself which includes a beautifully built garde-robe, the manor kitchen, a 4 metre deep well, a large tithe barn, a cattle barn and a range of associated buildings including a forge and what was probably a brew-house.

This is probably the most completely excavated manorial site in Leicestershire and excavations are planned to come to an end at the end of 2017. The excavated remains will be preserved by carefully restoring the field to grazing land.

More information, including details of finds from the site, can be accessed here: LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Kate Jewell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts Village, Rural settlement Place: Croxton Kerrial Primary Subject: Archaeology other tags: Medieval Manor House Garde-Robe Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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SK8329, 161 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Kate Jewell   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 23 July, 2017   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 26 July, 2017
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SK 8359 2943 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:51.3530N 0:45.6014W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SK 8359 2943
View Direction
EAST (about 90 degrees)
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Image Type (about): close look 
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