Finningham Cromwells Plantation (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Stoland Abbey

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

OS Map Grid Reference: TM04517136
Latitude 52.30248° Longitude 0.99824°

Finningham Cromwells Plantation has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

In Cromwell's Plantation on level ground is a near-circular earthwork, comprising a regularly-formed rampart and outer ditch. It measures overall c 65.0m E-W by c 57.0m N-S, the rampart varying from 1.1m to 1.7m high above the interior, and the ditch (shown as waterfilled on OS 25") from 0.4m to 1.0m deep. The interior is level with the surrounding ground. There is an entrance causeway and gap in the NW arc. No trace of any structure survives in the interior or on the rampart; the site is overgrown with trees and under a thick layer of humus. Local tradition asserts that the earthwork was erected by Parliamentary Forces but it has none of the features of a Civil War earthwork. On early OS 1" maps the name Stoland Abbey is applied to the work and/or the plantation. The land in the vicinity probably belonged to an abbey: note Priory Farm (TM036717) and Abbots Hall (TM 051730), but there is no trace or documentary evidence for medieval settlement in the area. Examination of Brown's MS notes revealed that a hearth of stones, burnt red clay and "sandy ware" dated to the 12th century by Ipswich Museum, was found in the centre of the interior, one foot below ground in a trial excavation. He suggests that a 12th century hut stood here, but the limited excavation did not establish this with certainty. West suggests the work may be Danish and quotes similar features at Burnthall Plantation (TL 912760) and at Creeting, now destroyed, (TM 078566). None of these have yielded finds, but they occur on a possible line of Danish advance from Ipswich to Thetford (Battle fought c 870). Conflicting evidence does not allow classification of this earthwork. The possibility is however that it is a medieval ringwork. It is not a hillfort. (PastScape–ref. Field Investigators Comments-F1 NKB 09-NOV-73)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1005999, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number sf149
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 387357.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) FNN 005.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 88 (slight)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 460 (possible)
  Wall, 1911, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Suffolk Vol. 1 p. 590 online copy

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.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

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.

Data >	PastScape	County HER	Scheduling
Maps >	Streetmap	NLS maps	Where's the path	Old-Maps
Data/Maps >	Magic	V. O. B.	Geology	LiDAR	Open Domesday
Air Photos >	Bing Maps	Google Maps	Getmapping	ZoomEarth
Photos >	CastleFacts	Geograph	Flickr	Panoramio