Belstead Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Belstead.
In the historic county of Suffolk.
Modern Authority of Suffolk.
1974 county of Suffolk.
Medieval County of Suffolk.

OS Map Grid Reference: TM126413
Latitude 52.02896° Longitude 1.09967°

Belstead Hall has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

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

Description

The main range of Belstead Hall incorporates a late C13 gateway. It was two and a half storeyed with a through passage, and built of flint rubble with tile and bricks. (Emery)

Tower or gateway, square on plan with arched passageway through. Mortared flint rubble with tile and brick, stone dressings. Presumed late C13 from the size of the bricks c.205 x 104 x 45mm (cf. Little Wenham Hall, Suffolk), although the drip mould to the upper stage suggests a later date. Round arched doorway cut through at first floor level has later brick jambs. Main range timber framed, with exposed jowelled posts. Former first floor chamber, now subdivided has ogee moulded plastered cornices, and spinal beam, with two roll mouldings with beading, to the soffit. Plastered ceiling with scattered Tudor roses, fleur de lys c1600, Ipswich manner. First floor stone chimney piece apparently set into the medieval tower. Lozenge and rosette panels, vine leaves, the central panel a later insertion, moulded jambs. Deep moulded cornices and beams to first floor chambers, c1600. (Listed Building Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1351648
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) BSD 007.

Books
- Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 122

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
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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.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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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