Jarvis Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
South Benfleet; South Bemfleet

In the civil parish of Castle Point District.
In the historic county of Essex.
Modern Authority of Essex.
1974 county of Essex.
Medieval County of Essex.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ78378796
Latitude 51.56236° Longitude 0.57202°

Jarvis Hall has been described as a Palace although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*.

Description

In 1068 the ‘Suen’ (Sweyne) family, who were wealthy landowners in the Rayleigh area, were granted the Manor of Thundersley by William I, ‘until the disgrace of Suen’s grandson, Henry of Essex, who forfeited the Manor due to cowardice in battle’(Priestley, H. E. & Phillips, W. T. A History of Benfleet, Book Two, Modern Times, pub. Castle Point District Council, 1984, p.98). It then reverted to the Crown, as royal parkland (hunting grounds). These lands had long been popular for hunting as wildlife proliferated on the wooded plains and ridges, and King John (reigned 1199 – 1216) in particular used to hunt in Thundersley. The hunting lodges were Jarvis Hall (probably what is now the old barn), and King John’s palace, the site of which is thought to be down Kingston Way (Hallmann, R. Thundersley and Dawes Heath, a History, pub. The Hadleigh & Thundersley Community Archive, 2015, p.14). (The History of Thundersley Hall By Pamela-Jeanetta Bird Gaines on Benfleet Community Archive)

Comments

Barn of c. 1600 on supposed site of hunting lodge of King John. Gatehouse has been unable to identify the primary sources for the Benfleet hunting lodges or the evidence for suggesting these were at the given locations. Not recorded in archaeological databases. Not mentioned at all in the authoritative History of the King's Works although that does note (p. 660n5) that Edward II 'built a peel at the neighbouring manor of Thundersley' in 1315 ('Peel' may just mean enclosure in this context).

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1337680
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Benfleet Community Archive
Books
- Priestley, H.E. and Phillips, W.T., 1984, A History of Benfleet, Book Two, Modern Times (Castle Point District Council) p. 98

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
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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.

Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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