Summary

Medieval manor house 120m west of Court Farm.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 27 August 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument includes a medieval manor house situated on the lower gentle south facing slopes of Mudgley Hill just above the surrounding floodplain on the Levels at Aller Moor. The manor house survives as largely buried structures, layers and deposits with some visible earthworks such as platforms and low banks. Discovered in around 1827 when it was bisected by the Wedmore Turnpike, excavations by Hervey in 1878 recovered the foundations of the capital messuage of the Manor of Wedmore, the manor had been disparked in 1535. In 1878 it was known locally as ‘King Alfred’s Palace’ an optimistic association with the Peace of Wedmore in 878. The excavations, however, revealed 12th to 16th century buildings including a hall or barn measuring approximately 29m long by 12m wide, an underground storage room of 6m by 5m all set within a quadrangle measuring 50m by 37m. Finds included medieval coins of Richard II and Edward II, tokens, coarse pottery, a spur, an arrowhead and part of a chimney top. Known locally as ‘Court Garden’ it was the site of the summer palace of Dean Ivo and subsequent deans of Wells.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The medieval manor house 120m west of Court Farm was in some way similar to the Bishops' palaces of the era, since this was a high status domestic summer residence providing luxury accommodation and lodgings for the deans and their retinues in a rural setting akin to a country house. The manor house contained a range of buildings including a hall and probably a chapel, lodgings and a gatehouse arranged around a courtyard. The earliest recorded examples of such residencies date to the seventh century. Many were occupied throughout the medieval period and some continued in use into the post- medieval period; a few remain occupied today. Despite partial early excavation, this rare monument type will contain further archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, development, longevity, domestic arrangements, agricultural practices, social, political and religious significance, abandonment and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-194133

Source: Historic England