Lubenham Old Hall (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Lubenham.
In the historic county of Leicestershire.
Modern Authority of Leicestershire.
1974 county of Leicestershire.
Medieval County of Leicestershire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SP70858704
Latitude 52.47665° Longitude -0.95834°

Lubenham Old Hall has been described as a Fortified Manor House although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

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

Description

VCH records this site as a 'moated inclosure with stronger defensive works.'

On the south-east of the village the remains of the ancient manor house stand within a rectangular moat 20 ft. wide and 4ft. deep, with a rampart 4ft. high on the north side. It is now drained, but the River Welland, immediately to the south, formerly supplied it with water. A fishpond is to the south- west of the site. (VCH, 1907)

The square moat comprises three arms with a fourth believed to be infilled on the western side. With the exception of the northern half of the eastern arm, most of the moat is water-filled and 12-15m wide and 1-1.5m deep. There is an outer bank on the eastern and northern sides 0.5m high, and an inner bank on the northern side 1m high. At the south-western end the moat opens out into a pond which enclosed a small island 25m long. A bank 0.5m high runs at right angles from the eastern arm onto the moat island. Traces of ridge and furrow are visible on the south side of the island. Documentary sources suggests that the manor house was largely demolished in the late 18th century. (PastScape–scheduling report)

House, fragment of a large H-plan house. Late C16 with early C18 alterations, reduced c1774, C20 alterations. Ironstone and brick. Slate roof with 2 brick gable stacks. South front: 2 storeys, 5 bays. Originally brick, refaced in stone, early C18. Chamfered plinth. Blank centre flanked by 2 pairs of cross windows. Above, between floors, a single cross window with above to left and right,another 2 pairs of cross windows. All windows C20 with stone cills and wooden lintels. West gable end wall has a blocked 4-light stone mullioned window, with ovolo-moulded mullions, and hoodmould, probably late C16. Interior: 3 chamfered main beams with run-out stops. Charles I is reported to have lodged here on the eve of the Battle of Naseby. (Listing description)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1012566, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 17042
National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1360740
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 343870.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) MLE11533.

Books
- Lee, J.M. and McKinley, R.A., 1964, VCH Leicestershire Vol. 5 p. 220 online transcription
  Wall, C., 1907, 'Ancient Earthworks' in Page, Wm, (ed), VCH Leicestershire Vol. 1 p. 269 online copy
  Nichols, J., 1798, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicestershire Vol. 2.2 p. 699, 701 online copy

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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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*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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