Botyngton

Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House

There are no visible remains

NameBotyngton
Alternative NamesBodington; Boddington
Historic CountryGloucestershire
Modern AuthorityGloucestershire
1974 AuthorityGloucestershire
Civil ParishBoddington

BOTYNGTON, or BODINGTON, is described by Leland as "a faire maner place and a parke ; it came to one Rede, servant to the Lorde Beauchampe, that married his lord's daughter, the eldest of 3, and the Redes have it still." A licence to crenellate his mansion here was granted in the 8th Edward III. to " Johannes de Bures et Hawisia uxor ejus." The house appears to have been rebuilt since that time, but is still ancient, and surrounded by a moat. (Turner and Parker 1859)

John de Bures and Hawise were living at Boddington in 1334, when they had licence to crenellate their house there. (CPR) It may have been they who built the house called a 'fair manor place' in the 16th century, (Leland) and later described as belonging to 'the first style of building after castles were no longer necessary'. (Brayley and Britton) In 1652 the house consisted of a hall, parlour, and offices, with rooms over, built of stone and covered with stone tiles. It occupied a moated site of 2 a. (Glos. R.O., D 2025 (Blagdon), survey of Boddington manor, 1652). (VCH)

The site of an ancient monastery (Listed Building Report 1948), mentioned by Leland as "a fair manor place and park" (Leland). Relics have been found in the moat (TBGAS) of its occupation by Parliamentary forces in the Civil War, when it withstood a Royalist attack (Cox 1949). The present house is 19th.century (Listed Building Report 1948), and little now remains of the moat (Cardew 1898).

The published remains of the "moat" consist of a single slight depression which is extremely unlikely ever to have been a true moat and is probably an ornamental feature. Proof copies of VCH Glos make no mention of either a monastery or a moat here, though the manor belonged to Deerhurst Priory and later, when the Priory was alienated, to Tewkesbury Abbey (RCHM Recorder ANK 04-JUN-1969). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Although the moat no longer exists the dismissal of it in PastScape seems unjustified as it was well attested in the early C19. The current Listings Report makes no mention of a monastery, a moat or the licence to crenellate. It seems likely the medieval house was fairly typical of licenced houses in being moated and with decorative martial elements but not being seriously fortified, although it may well have been attacked in the Civil War.

- Philip Davis

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 ReferenceSO895256
Latitude51.9288215637207
Longitude-2.15409994125366
Eastings389520
Northings225650
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 3 Southern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 132, 211
  • Elrington, CR (ed), 1968, VCH Gloucestershire Vol. 8 p. 190 online transcription
  • Cox, J.C., 1949, Gloucestershire: Little Guide (London: Methuen & Co) p. 57
  • Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 258, 410 online copy
  • Brayley, E. and Britton, J., 1803, Beauties of England and Wales Vol. 5 p. 704 online copy

Antiquarian

  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England  (Sutton Publishing) p. 191
  • Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1909, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 4 p. 133 online copy

Journals

  • Rawes, B., 1978, 'A Preliminary Check List of Moated Sites in Gloucestershire' Glevensis Vol. 12 p. 35 online copy
  • Cardew, G.A., 1898, 'The moats or waterforts of the Vale of the Severn' Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society Vol. 21 p. 63 online copy
  • 1889-90, Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society Vol. 14 p. 204 online copy

Primary Sources

  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1895, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward III (1334-38) Vol. 3 p. 330 online copy