Details

The monument includes a manorial settlement at Court Farm, situated on level
ground to the north east of the Bere Stream.
The area of the manorial settlement is depicted on a map produced by Isaac
Taylor in 1770. This shows the manor house and additional structures at Court
Farm, all enclosed within an area to the south east of Bere Church. The
eastern area of the settlement is called `Back Close' and is associated with
many of the ancillary structures.
The manor house formed the principal home of the Turberville family. The
structure was stone-built and constructed or extensively renovated by Thomas
Tuberville prior to 1587. Hutchins describes the house as `a large hall with
an oriel window'. Little other detail is known, as the house was demolished
around 1830. The site of the manor house is now marked by foundation levels
which are visible as earthworks. These include two raised platforms with
maximum dimensions of 12m-20m by 25m-40m and c.0.5m in height, two sunken
platforms of similar proportions and a probable fishpond to the south west
with maximum dimensions of 20m by 11m and c.0.5m in depth, associated with an
outer bank 5m wide and c.0.35m high.
To the east of these earthworks are a pair of stone-built cottages which date
from the later 17th century. The cottages are known to occupy the site of
former manorial outbuildings, as a drawing dating to 1786 illustrates a
granary which has since become incorporated into one of the cottages.
Excluded from the scheduling are the structures of the two cottages which are
occupied as residences (Listed Grade II) and the fence posts and gates
relating to the field boundaries, although the underlying ground is included
in each case.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Medieval manorial settlements, comprising small groups of houses with
associated gardens, yards and paddocks, supported communities devoted
primarily to agriculture, and acted as the foci for manorial administration.
Although the sites of many of these settlements have been occupied
continuously down to the present day, many others declined in size or were
abandoned at some time during the medieval and post-medieval periods,
particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. The reasons for desertion
were varied but often reflected declining economic viability, changes in land-
use such as enclosure or emparkment, or population fluctuations as a result of
widespread epidemics such as the Black Death. As a consequence of their
abandonment, these settlements are frequently undisturbed by later occupation
and contain well-preserved archaeological deposits, providing information on
the diversity of medieval settlement patterns and farming economy, and on the
structure and changing fortunes of manorial communities.

Despite the demolition of the manor house, much of the manorial settlement at
Court Farm survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to the monument, the landscape in which it was constructed
and the economy of the community. Historical sources, including maps, provide
a clear indication of the site's original extent.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Hutchins, J, History of Dorset: Volume I, (1861), 136
Other
Built/repaired before 1587, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Description of cottages, English Heritage, Listed Buildings: Dorset, (1984)
Integration of cottages/granary, English Heritage, Listed Buildings: Dorset, (1984)
Mention formed seat of Tubervilles, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Mention no evidence for the palace, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Site now occupied by earthworks, Ancient Monuments Record 7,
Site occupied by building until c1830, Ancient Monuments Record 7,
Title: Map of Bere Regis
Source Date: 1770
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
Site of manorial settlement

Source: Historic England