Elton Hall

Has been described as a Certain Fortified Manor House

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameElton Hall
Alternative Names
Historic CountryHuntingdonshire
Modern AuthorityCambridgeshire
1974 AuthorityCambridgeshire
Civil ParishElton

Late 15th century moated courtyard house, rebuilt between 1662-1689. Only the chapel and gatehouse of the original house survive. The house was further altered prior to 1710 and remodelled in a Gothic style between 1780-1815. Circa 1885, the Gothic details were removed and and some of the later additions demolished. The north west cross wing was rebuilt at the same time, the north west wing refaced in stone and the main entrance restored to the north east facade. The chapel range was extended circa 1860 and further additions were made later in the 19th century. The upper storey of the 15th century tower was restored after a fire in 1894. The two and three storey house is an irregular T-shape in plan, built of limestone rubble and ashlar with stone slate roofs. (PastScape)

The late C15 work was done for Sir Richard Sapcote and perhaps his son Sir John. It consists of the gatehouse and in the same range the chapel undercroft. The gatehouse has a four-centred arch, and two quadripartite rib-vaults inside, preceded by a shallow entrance bay with two quadripartite vaults placed across, not along, i.e. rising to a middle ridge, each with its own apex. There are two tiers of two-light windows, and the top is embattled and strongly machicolated. Work preserved goes on a little to the E. The chapel undercroft is in the same range to the W. Of the chapel itself above the undercroft, some masonry no doubt survives, and also the Wend-gable and its pinnacles. The undercroft consists of two chambers each of two bays of rib-vaulting, the single-chamfered ribs growing out of the wall-shafts without capitals and forming tierceron stars. The bays are separated by four-centred transverse arches. Nothing is known for certain about the further extent of the house. One can assume that the Sapcotes' hall range lay N of the surviving range, separated from it by a courtyard. (Cambs. HER ref. Pevsner)

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTL088929
Latitude52.5237197875977
Longitude-0.397060006856918
Eastings508840
Northings292940
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 18
  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 237
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 12
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 226
  • Pevsner, N., 1968, Buildings of England: Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough p. 238-41
  • Page, Wm , Proby, Granville and Ladds, S. Inskip (eds), 1936, VCH Huntingdonshire Vol. 3 p. 155
  • RCHME, 1926, An inventory of the historical monuments in Huntingdonshire p. 80-1 no. 3 online transcription
  • Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 1 p. 315-6 online copy
  • Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 251 online copy

Journals

  • Oswald, 1957, Country Life Vol. 121 p. 334-7, 380-3, 426-9