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NEW HALL

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NEW HALL

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New Hall, now a Catholic School, was acquired by Henry VIII in 1516. He bought the medieval house from Sir Thomas Boelyn and ordered construction of the royal palace just one month before the birth of his first child, Princess Mary. He renamed it Beaulieu Palace, however the name never outlived his reign. The quadrangular palace Henry built was one of his biggest works. In 1523 a garden was laid out at New Hall which in 1530 was referred to as the 'great garden of Beaulieu'. Between 1737 and 1764 New Hall underwent substantial demolition which included the hall and chapel. In 1798 it was purchased by the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre for conversion to a convent and school and continues as such to this day. The building was bombed in 1943 and was subsequently repaired. The building was also extensively added to and altered in the 20th century. The only surviving fabric of the palace built by Henry VIII consists of part of the wall at the east end of the house and a carved stone panel.

The present building is of red brick and consists of a long range, formerly the north side of the quadrangle, with smaller wings at each end and a small courtyard on the east side with 18th century ranges on the east and south.

In 2009 a three day archaeological excavation carried out by Time Team exposed remains of what is considered to have been Princess Mary's nursery wing, as well as an imposing gatehouse and the chapel.

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(TL 734103) New Hall (NR) (Convent) (NAT) (1)

The north wing of New Hall is the only surviving part of a great quadrangular Palace built by Henry VIII soon after 1518 called Beaulieu. He re-built or enlarged an existing house which was already an important building and made it a magnificent residence. In 1737 John Olmins demolished all but the north and adjoining parts of the east and west wings and remodelled the whole thing into "a gentleman's residence". The Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre acquired it in 1798 and it still remains their convent and school today. It was extensively damaged in 1943 and has had alterations and additions. What exists today is chiefly the splendid south facade of the north wing of the 1573 house. (2-4)

The present building is of red brick and consists of a long range, formerly the north side of the quadrangle, with smaller wings at each end and a small courtyard on the east side with 18th century ranges on the east and south. The south front of the long range has 7 half octagonal 2 storeyed bays each with stone mullioned and transomed windows with 24 lights in the upper storey and 16 in the ground storey windows. A parapet with a stone modillion cornice and a moulded stringcourse continues round each bay. In the centre and between the bays there is a small stone pilaster rising from the stringcourse and surmounted by a square pier with a ball finial. The central bay has a Tudor arched doorway in a stone Roman Doric doorcase with plain columns, triglyph frieze with ornamented metope, cornice and a carved coat of arms in a panel framed by pilasters, frieze and cornice. For full details, please see the listed building description. (4)

The remains of the 16th century mansion of Beaulieu (now called New Hall, a convent school) is generally as described by authorities 2 and 3. The remaining south facade of the north wing, partly restored in style after 1945 bomb damage, is outstanding. No architectural features of the original chapel are visible, though the probable site lay on the west side of the north wing.
Published survey (25") correct. (5-6)

TL 73351035. Excavations for a new classroom block at New Hall Convent School revealed an octagonal brick-built subterranean cistern which acted as a water supply point for the Henrician palace. Externally the cistern was square with an octagonal man-hole chamber on the NW corner, and a circular well with a surviving bored tree-truck pipe for a pump at surface level at the NE corner. (7)

Henry VIII purchased New Hall from Sir Thomas Boleyn in 1516, and the resulting palace was one of Henry's largest works. In 1521, £16000 was advanced for the construction programme, and the total cost of the work was circa £17000. Henry renamed the manor house Beaulieu. In 1737-64, much of the house was demolished to make it a more manageable property. Little now remains of the original house. The only surviving fabric consists of the lower part of the wall at the east end of the house and a carved stone panel.

The name 'Beaulieu Palace' was never really used as its common name and was rarely used after Henry's death. In 1573 Elizabeth I granted the house to Thomas Radcliffe, Earl of Sussex. Between 1737 and 1764, the owner, Lord Waltham, ordered the demolition of much of the house, including the hall and chapel as it was simply too large for the owner. (8)

In 1523 John Ryman a garden was laid out at New Hall which in 1530 was referred to as the 'great garden of Beaulie' . For a more detailed description of the gardens at New Hall see its description in the Parks and Gardens register. (9)

An earlier incarnation of the building was home to Thomas, earl of Ormonde, who had been granted a licence to crenellate in 1491. (9-11)

Beaulieu Palace was the first palace Henry VIII ever built. A month before the birth of his first child, Princess Mary, Henry ordered that construction begin on the palace. This was in 1516, just seven years into his reign.

In 2009 a three day archaeological excavation carried out by Time Team, what is considered to have been Princess Mary's nursery wing was uncovered, as well as a section of the gatehouse. From the archaeological evidence, the gatehouse appears to have been an imposing structure and would have made an impressive impact. (12)

This is an evaluation comprising geophysical survey and trial trenching revealed structural evidence for Beaulieu Palace, including the Gatehouse, 'Nursery Floor' and Chapel. This report was produced as part of Time Team's excavations. (13)

This is an additional reference. (14)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1967

( 2) by Nikolaus Pevsner ; revised by Enid Radcliffe 1965 Essex

The Buildings of England Page(s)94-95

( 3) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) 1921 An inventory of the historical monuments in Essex. Volume II: [central and south-west]

Page(s)24-26

( 4) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Chelmsford District Page(s)8-9

( 5) Field Investigators Comments

F1 PAS 21.11.75

(6) Field report on TL 71 SW 12 - 21-NOV-1975

(7) Post-medieval archaeology : the journal of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology

17, 1983 Page(s)193-4

(8) by H M Colvin ... [et al] 1982 The history of the King's Works, volume 4 : 1485-1660 (Part 2)

Page(s)172-5

(9) English Heritage Register of parks and gardens of special historic interest in England

Essex Part 15

(10) Essex Review

See red box parish file for offprint of these articles: "New Hall, Boreham, 1062-1799" XVII, APRIL AND JULY 1908 Page(s)57-66, 121-132

(11) Anthony Emery 2000 Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300-1500, Volume II: East Anglia, Central England and Wales

Page(s)166

(12) World Wide Web page

Time Team. 2009. Beaulieu Palace, Channel 4 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team-specials/articles/beaulieu-palace [accessed 02-OCT-2009]

(13) Geophysical Surveys of Bradford/Reports

GSB/2008/Geophysical survey report: Beaulieu Place, Chelmsford, Time Team, 2008

(14) Simon Thurley 1993 The royal palaces of Tudor England : architecture and court life

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Gardens to New Hall covering an area of 14 hectares. The gardens are documented in 1522 and 1573. New gardens were laid out in 1624 and were possibly ...

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