Thornage Hall

Has been described as a Certain Palace (Bishop), and also as a Certain Fortified Manor House

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameThornage Hall
Alternative Names
Historic CountryNorfolk
Modern AuthorityNorfolk
1974 AuthorityNorfolk
Civil ParishThornage

Thornage Hall is a former grange of the Bishops of Norwich. The site is known to have been occupied from the Norman period, and excavation has uncovered medieval floor surfaces. The present building was built around 1482 for Bishop Goldwell, and contains reused fragments of 12th to 13th century stone in the walls. In the 17th century each end was demolished and remodelled, but the hall windows and doorways in the centre block were retains. In 1988 a 17th century sewer tunnel was rediscovered. Nearby there is a large brick dovecote, dating to 1728, and barns of flint and brick dating to 1718 and 1727. (Norfolk HER)

Gatehouse Comments

Residential manor of the Bishop of Norfolk. Possibly included in the licence to crenellate said to have granted to the bishop in 1327 although as this was for all his houses may not have resulted in any building work. The current, much altered building, was built for Bishop Goldwell (1472-99).

- 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 ReferenceTG047364
Latitude52.8857612609863
Longitude1.04258000850677
Eastings604700
Northings336400
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Copyright Dave Barlow of Abaroths World All Rights ReservedView full Sized Image
Copyright Dave Barlow of Abaroths World All Rights ReservedView full Sized Image

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Books

  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 131, 155-7
  • Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 181
  • Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B., 1997, The Buildings of England: Norwich and North-East Norfolk p. 303
  • Blomefield, F., 1808, 'Holt hundred: Thornage' An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk Vol. 9 p. 445-6 (tenurial history) online transcription

Other

  • Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales (available via EThOS)