HARLOWBURY

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House built 13th century or possibly late 12th century as an abbot's palace. Roof alterations in the 14th century, the aisles were removed and the building encased in brick in the mid 19th century. Timber-framed with peg tile roof; wing to north timber-framed and rendered.

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(TL 4775 1209) Harlowbury [NAT]. (1)

Harlowbury (name confirmed) is probably 16th century with additions and is not outstanding. See ground photographs AO 69/62/6 and AO 69/62/7. A ditch feature 5.0m wide by 0.8m deep partly surrounds the house on the west and south sides and could be associated with a possible bury though its archaeological significance cannot be proved without excavation. Disturbed ground centred TL 477120 forming irregular platforms suggests Medieval desertion though no coherent pattern is visible. It seems to be the result of minor surface quarrying leaving an elevated path to the house.

Published survey 1:1250 correct. (2)

Harlowbury. Grade I. Timber framed Abbot's Palace of the 13th century, formerly belonging to the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. The aisles were removed and the whole encased in brick in the mid 19th century (see list for details). (3)

The manor was held by the Abbot of St Edmund from 1041; a lease shows that it was in use as a resting-place on the route from Bury to London. All roof features indicate 13th century construction, but the capitals of the arcade-posts have parallels with late 12th century decoration. (4)

TL 478121. At Harlowbury House the area adjoining the north wall of this timber-framed aisled house was excavated by R Bartlett in 1983 in an attempt to trace the outer aisle. However, service and building trenches had removed all traces. Only a few late 12th to early 13th century sherds were found. The finds are at Harlow House. (5)

Additional reference. (6)

Harlowbury House is surrounded to the south and west by well-defined earthworks representing the remains of a former medieval village [see TL 41 SE 48]. Some features, more recent than these, are also visible overlying the medieval earthworks and were probably created as part of a landscaped garden associated with Harlowbury House.

The dominant earthwork feature is a raised causeway that leads from the gate in the north-west corner of the site towards the chapel [see TL 41 SE 16]. Thereafter it follows a sinuous course to the south, truncating a number of earlier features. A circular tree plantation situated 150m to the south-west of the house containing, amongst others, pine and Lebanon cedar, also clearly cuts through earlier earthworks. An isolated group of earthworks immediately to the south of the house consisting principally of one large rectilinear hollow may be the remnants of medieval settlement but the likelihood that they belonged to a later phase of garden landscape should not be discounted. (7)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:10000 1982

( 2) Field Investigators Comments

F1 PAS 12-JUN-75

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

Harlow, 19-JUN-1981 973 Page(s)30

( 4) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

S M Youngs and J Clark 26 Page(s)182

( 5) Essex archaeology and history : transactions of Essex Archaeological Society

D Priddy 16 Page(s)129

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

Page(s)115

(7) General reference

David McOmish, Cathy Tuck/14-April-1999/English Heritage:SAMs Pilot Project

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HARLOWBURY DESERTED MEDIEVAL VILLAGE
HARLOW

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Harlowbury deserted medieval village. The site of the village lies in pasture to the south of Harlowbury comprising of a building with 13th century el...

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