Blofield manor of Bishop of Norwich (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Blofield.
In the historic county of Norfolk.
Modern Authority of Norfolk.
1974 county of Norfolk.
Medieval County of Norfolk.

OS Map Grid Reference: TG33080905
Latitude 52.62884° Longitude 1.44210°

Blofield manor of Bishop of Norwich has been described as a certain Palace, and also as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Documentary sources and earthworks survey have identified this as a medieval moat and manor site probably belonging to the Bishops of Norwich. Excavations at the site revealed no features and few finds dating to the medieval and post medieval periods and this suggests that the site may have been levelled off at some stage, probably whilst the land was being ploughed for agriculture. The western extent of the main moat is visible as both cropmarks and soilmarks and suggests an oval or oblong shape to the site. The eastern extent being indicated by the previously recorded earthworks and the course of the water channel running around the site. The ditch of the moat appears to be 8-11m wide and the remains of an outer bank are suggested by the pale soilmark surrounding the moat. An additional moated enclosure may have existed to the NE of the main one, although the cropmarks and soilmarks in this area are not clear. Additional channels and boundaries indicate a further series of enclosed areas to the west and north. Although some of these may postdate the main moated site and may be additions to the site. (Norfolk HER)

A Royal licence to crenellate may have been granted in 1327 (Click on the date for details of this supposed licence.).

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 12445.

Books
- Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 181
  Blomefield, F., 1807, 'Blofield Hundred: Blofield' An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk Vol. 7 p. 209-211 (tenurial history) online transcription
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales (available via EThOS)

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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