Mablethorpe (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Malberthorpe

In the civil parish of Mablethorpe And Sutton.
In the historic county of Lincolnshire.
Modern Authority of Lincolnshire.
1974 county of Lincolnshire.
Medieval County of Lincolnshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TF49148463
Latitude 53.33762° Longitude 0.23854°

Mablethorpe has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

An ancient farm House, sometimes called the Old Hall, was a seat of the Fitzwilliam family in the 15th and 16th centuries; and tradition says a French ship landed a body of armed men, who carried off the heir of this family, and exacted such a large ransom that they were obliged to sell their estates in this neighbourhood. At a short distance from this house are traces of a moated area, on which the mansion of some other wealthy family is supposed to have stood. (White 1872)

During trial trenching at Mablethorpe Hall Care Home in July 2012, Trench 1 revealed a dumped layer which was probably deposited in the medieval period. It may have been dumped during the excavation of the moat to create an island for the high status buildings. 15th century pottery and animal bone was also recorded. (Lincolnshire HER ref. Allen Archaeological Associates 2012)

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1459 Dec 11 (Click on the date for details of this licence.).

Comments

Thomas Fitzwilliam obtained a licence to crenellate in 1459. Despite White's statement Gatehouse considers it unlikely that two separate wealthy families would have houses so close together in the C15 in this rural area and it seems more likely his 'Old Hall' and the moated area represent different phases of FitzWilliam occupation with the moated site probably being the site of the C15 licensed house. If White's story of pirate abduction is correct, and it could well be so, it should be noted that there were genuine threats to personal security in this area but neither a licence to crenellate nor a moat offered any absolute protection.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 355668.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 41430; 41431.

Books
- Osborne, Mike, 2010, Defending Lincolnshire: A Military History from Conquest to Cold War (The History Press) p. 62
  Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 171, 327
  White, W., 1872, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire p. 264 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1927, Calendar of Charter Rolls 5 Henry VI - 8 Henry VIII, AD 1427-1516, with an appendix, 1215-1288 Vol. 6. (HMSO) p. 131-2 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Allen Archaeological Associates, 2012, Archaeological Scheme of Works at Mablethorpe Care Home, Alford Road, Mablethorpe. MAHA12.
  Allen Archaeological Associates, 2012, Archaeological Scheme of Works at Mablethorpe Care Home, Alford Road, Mablethorpe. LCNCC 2012.106.

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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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