Monument record HXN 006 - Vicarage

Large (1.8 acres) rectangular moat adjacent to the W side of the churchyard. Possible original site of the palace of the medieval Bishops of Norwich at Hoxne (see also HXN 016 for later palace site). Now contains the Vicarage (Listed Building with C15 elements - see site file).
March 2002 : scheduled - details in (S2).
2006 (or 2007): Evaluation prior to construction of garages next to Vicarage by SCCAS - details to follow.

Features visible on Lidar. See associated files.

The dredging of the moat and excavation for a sunken paved area on the moat platform were monitored. The site is believed to have been a former palace of the bishop of Norwich dating from at least the beginning of the 14th century. The monitoring demonstrated that the moat had last been cleaned out in the 20th century and no medieval deposits survived. In one corner the moat was substantially deeper with steep sides and may have been used as a swimming pool. The excavation recorded an alignment of postholes, probably part of a small building, pits and a small ditch, containing 12th- to14th-century pottery. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2007 (S3).