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Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
Registered Charity No. 247283 |
The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of CornwallWith thanks to Philip Davis |
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Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
Registered Charity No. 247283 |
The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of CornwallWith thanks to Philip Davis |
|
|
Penhallam Manor, Jacobstow
In the
civil parish of Jacobstow. Late C12 to mid C14 moated manor house in a steep sided valley floor near Week St Mary. Visible as a sub-circular moat defining a central island which supports walls and foundation trenches of manor house complex. The surviving walls are generally 0.75m-0.8m wide and 0.5m high but they rise to 1.4m high in the north west sector. The foundation trenches recorded by excavation are now visible as modern, low, wire-framed and turf-covered earth banks which are built over their courses. The moat is flat- bottomed, from 5.5m wide and 1.5m deep on the south to 12m wide and 1m deep on the north. It contains water on the north, east and south sides. The structural complex forming the manor house is visible as four ranges of buildings. Excavations indicated that the surviving plan resulted from four main building phases. The east range contains the earliest structure and is dated to circa 1180-1200. It housed, over an undercroft, the domestic apartments of the owner. About AD 1200, a wardrobe and garderobe were added to the northern end of the domestic apartments. The third and most extensive visible phase of building took place between circa 1224 and 1236, resulting in most structures of the north, west and south ranges. This building phase included the hall, buttery, chapel and bakehouse. The fourth building phase of circa 1300 resulted in the rebuilding of the kitchens and service wing. Historical records show that the manor of Penhallam formed part of the honour of Cardinham, held by Richard fitz Turold in 1087, and by his descendants, eventually the de Cardinham family. It is Andrew de Cardinham who is considered responsible for the major third building phase. Called Ringwork in Higham.This site has been described as a Fortified Manor House / Timber Castle. Fortified Manor House: A high status fortified residence not capable of withstanding an army but able to resist an armed band. They are generally moated and have a gatehouse with loops and crenellations. They tend to be sited with much less consideration for tactical and strategic defence and with domestic considerations, such as ease of access, to the fore. The difference between a small castles and a fortified manor house is a subjective one and may well be an artificial division in that for contemporary medieval citizens it may not have existed. David King did not use this term and preferred the term Strong House, since not all fortified high status houses were manorial, but use of his term Strong House has not been widely adopted possible because it is widely used as a synonym for bastle. Such buildings did not require a licence to crenellate and having a licence to crenellate does not mean a building was certainly fortified. However, I have recorded all buildings issued a licence to crenellate under this group since they clearly were at least intended to be [re]constructed in a fortified style. Timber
Castle: These are the earthwork and timber castles of the motte and
bailey or ringwork form which where the vast majority of castles of
the early conquest period, of the Marches in the 11th and 12th
centuries and of the period during the reign of Stephen known as the
Anarchy. They were generally fairly short lived, although some such
castles survived for centuries, with the timber buildings and defences
being replaced on occasions sometimes in timber and sometimes in
Masonry (Alderton Castle in Northamptonshire was shown in a Time Team
excavation to have been built about 1070 and to still have been having
high status visitors in the C15-a fine piece of enamels horse harness
being found in the gatehouse). Some of the smaller low mottes may have
been adapted into moated manor houses, whilst others where abandoned
and replaced by manor houses of a more comfortable and domestic
nature. Timber castles varied greatly in size with some being massive
constructions clearly deserving the term castle, whilst other were
small mounds of minor knights and had a similar size, function and
social status as the later pele towers. These small mottes are called
'castle' but this could be considered a rather loose use of the term. The
confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain. Masonry footings remains.
This site
is a scheduled
monument protected by law. The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX22449740
Sources of information, references and further reading
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The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies is a Registered Charity. No. 247283
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