Burgh Manor House, Burrough Green

Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House

There are no visible remains

NameBurgh Manor House, Burrough Green
Alternative NamesPark Wood
Historic CountryCambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely
Modern AuthorityCambridgeshire
1974 AuthorityCambridgeshire
Civil ParishBurrough Green

A double rectangular moat at Park Wood. The main enclosure is 180 ft by 250 ft surrounded by a wet moat between 18 to 25 ft wide and 10 ft deep (see plan). Inside it brick foundations are said to have been dug up which could be the site of the manor house of Burgh. On the west side there is a secondary rectangular area surrounded by a dry ditch which has almost the same dimensions as the main enclosure but is less deep and has no banks. (VCH, 1948). A sub-rectangular homestead moat situated on high ground to the north of Park Wood. The secondary enclosure visible on St Joseph APs to the west has been ploughed out, but its course is marked by slight soil variation. The main moat measures overall 104m north-south by 84.0m east to west the arms averaging 12.0m wide by 3.2m deep. The water level is maintained by surface drainage with the original causewayed entrance across the east arm. The interior, which is now ploughed, appears to have been dug, possibly for building stone, though a dense scatter of medieval tile is still visible on the surface. An inner bank on the south side has been formed down to 0.4m high and an outer bank on the west side is now visible as a slight lift in plough (Field Investigator). Burrough Green is recorded in the early C11, and the earliest manor house probably stood on the Saxon moated site in Park Wood (VCH 1978). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

A 'park for woodland beasts' at Burrough Green is recorded in Domeday. The VCH (1978) suggests the Park Wood moat is Saxon in origin. However one might expect the original Saxon manorial centre to be by the parish church, although some parishes do have multiply manors. The moat most probably dated to around 1330 when Thomas de Burgh was granted a licence to impark his wood of Burgh. Despite being a well preserved moat still holding water, and this suggestion of Saxon origin–which, if true, would make it exceptional, it was totally destroyed in 1983 after it was decided not to schedule the monument. This complete destruction of a historic monument by a wealthy landowner was entirely legal and should not be compared to the criminal damage done by anomic and alienated individuals who paint or scratch their names on buildings.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTL641549
Latitude52.1685104370117
Longitude0.398840010166168
Eastings564100
Northings254900
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 41
  • Wright, A.P.M. (ed), 1978, VCH Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely Vol. 6 p. 141-2 online transcription
  • Phillips, 1948, in Salzman, L.F. (ed), VCH Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely Vol. 2 p. 18-19

Primary Sources

  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1891, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward III (1327-30) Vol. 1 p. 553 online copy
  • C145/73 (4) (Survey of 1313) The National Archives reference (calendared in Maxwell Lyte, H.C., 1916, Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous (Chancery), preserved in the Public Record Office (H.M.S.O.) Vol. 2 p. 34 No. 143 [online copy > https://archive.org/stream/calendarofinqu02grea#page/34/mode/1up])

Other

  • Brian Cushion. 2002. Document detailing new earthwork discoveries