Monument record BUR 005 - Burgate Hall

Med moated site, "rounded" rectangle, W of church. ? Site of de Burgate Manor House, present hall erected 1587-1588. Three sides of moat remain, S arm filled in. Basil Brown found EMed rim sherd near moat. Sherd in SAU store (S1)(S2).
Entry in VCH adds "Fragment of adjacent moat to SW of moated site" (S2). 1990: Large quadrilateral moat with round corners, enclosing 1.6 acres. Much of the S arm has been infilled, though it is likely that there was a broad causeway on this side. Ditch wet, partly obscured by plant growth. Surviving part of S arm is broader and is now heavily reeded. The present farmhouse is situated in the middle of the S edge of the platform. The original timber-framed part of the house is unusually narrow (4.1m) and tall, and was originally jettied on both the N & S sides. Jettying is 3.75m above ground level. Internal evidence suggests that there is a gap in the jettying brackets in the middle of the original house (there is a later extension on the W end). Gap is between 3.0 and 4.5m wide. This strongly suggests that the house was originally a gatehouse at the main entry to the moat. In the roof are two crown posts, dated circa 1400 (S3). Adjoining the SW corner of the moat is a large pond with a long arm extending S. Two small ponds near this are shown on the old 1:2500 map. Only the S one is now visible and this is now joined at right angles to the long pond, as shown on the 1:10000 map. These may be the remains of some outer enclosure, the area of which is now under grass. On the W side of the long arm is a bank which forms part of the E boundary of Burgate Wood. On the W side of this, in the wood, is a broad hollow way running N-S, with another bank on its W side. The ring work site (BUR 007) is in the wood just to the W of this (S4).
Moat is to be associated with the de Burgate family, manorial lords here by the C13. Peter de Burgate had the grant of a market and fair in 1272. On the death of Sir Peter de Burgate, circa 1318, the manor passed to his son- in-law, John de Swyneford. The Swynefords were still in possession in 1346. By 1385 it had come into the possession of Sir William Burgate, a representative of a junior branch of the family. He was probably responsible for the building of the gatehouse. He died in 1409 and is buried under a magnificent tomb in the church. The manor was jointly inherited by his two daughters. Manor documents were amongst the Redgrave Hall papers, which were sold in 1921 and are now in the University Library at Chicago, USA.
July 1999: Part scheduled. Details in (S9).