Gaywood Hall, Kings Lynn (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;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

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

OS Map Grid Reference: TF63802003
Latitude 52.75301° Longitude 0.42585°

Gaywood Hall, Kings Lynn has been described as a probable Palace, and also as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are no visible remains.

Description

"In the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189), the Bishop of Norwich held Gaywood and Lynn in capite, and would not suffer the King's bailiffs or coroners to enter the lordship, where he had officers of his own, a gallows, assize of bread and beer, and other royalties. Bishop Grey built a palace on the site which is now occupied by Gaywood Hall. Some re-used material may be seen" (Messent) House, built in 1851 on the site of the medieval bishop's palace. The building has been used for various purposes since the 1930s and was extended in 1985. In 1385, Henry, Bishop of Norwich was granted a licence to crenellate his house at Gaywood. (PastScape)

A Royal licence to crenellate may have been granted in 1327 (Click on the date for details of this supposed licence.).
A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1387 Dec 29.

Comments

Licence to crenellate granted to Henry, bishop of Norwich in 1388. This licences was also the one which produced the fortified house of North Elmham. Possibly included in the possible licence to crenellate issued to the Bishop of Norwich for all his manor houses in 1327. Building work in the 1380's would seem likely, less certain for the 1320's. C19 house on site. A survey of 1487 shows it consisted of two moated enclosures, the inner containing the domestic buildings.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 356555.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 5555.

Books
- Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) (Shown on map of fortified houses of East Anglia as Destroyed) p. 131, 166
  Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 12, 113, 168, 181
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 312n12 (mention of licence)
  Messent, C.J.W., 1934, Monastic remains of Norfolk and Suffolk p. 41
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 420 online copy
  Blomefield, F., 1808, 'Freebridge Hundred and Half: Gaywode' An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk Vol. 8 p. 419-425 (tenurial history) online transcription
Periodical Articles
- Bradfer-Lawrence, H.L., 1932, 'Gaywood Dragge' Norfolk Archaeology Vol. 24 p. 146-83
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), 1900, Calendar of Patent Rolls Richard II (1385-89) Vol. 3 p. 381 online copy
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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