Bradden Manor

Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House

There are no visible remains

NameBradden Manor
Alternative Names
Historic CountryNorthamptonshire and the Soke of Peterborough
Modern AuthorityNorthamptonshire
1974 AuthorityNorthamptonshire
Civil ParishBradden

Manor house site SP 647486. A long rectangular area is partly enclosed by a bank 1.5m high and external ditch. The interior is uneven, and partly terraced suggesting a former garden. Bradden House to the south west is thought to be the site of a medieval manor of the Knights Hospitaller. These earthworks may be the site of another manor. The site was already abandoned by 1740. (PastScape)

Manor House Site (SP 647486), lies immediately N. of the church, on the side of a shallow valley, on Boulder Clay at 122 m. above OD. The present Bradden House to the S.W. is traditionally the site of a manor house of the Knights Hospitallers who held land in Bradden; the existing building certainly incorporates a late medieval structure. The earthworks described here may therefore be the site of another medieval manor house of the village.

The earthworks consist of a large rectangular area 120 m. long, bounded on the N. and E. by a bank up to 1.5 m. high with an outer ditch 0.25 m. deep, and on the S. by a scarp. There is no evidence of a W. side. The interior is uneven and has two low scarps along the N. side. In the centre of the S. side are broad rectangular terraces edged by low scarps which may be the remains of a garden. The site was already abandoned by 1740 (map in NRO) when the field was called Bury; the copse to the E. is still called Bury Brake (air photographs in NMR). (RCHME)

Gatehouse Comments

The RCHME does not seem to be aware of the licence to crenellate and impark 100 acres granted to John Holcot in 1477. The only evidence of the park is a possible rabbit warren at SP 643479. The likely site for Holcot's house is the manor site north of the church although it may be possible that it was at the site Bradden House (SP64624841) if this was the site of a medieval manor house. The manor seems 'after some rather complicated negotiations' to have been 'acquired in 1486 by John Mathew, alderman of London'. Depending on how long these complicated negotiations took it may be Holcot died or sold the manor before work could commence on the house or the park. However Gatehouse has not identified a reasonable tenurial history for Bradden Manor, or a biography of John Holcot, or for a relationship between the two.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSP647486
Latitude52.1319313049316
Longitude-1.05618000030518
Eastings464700
Northings248600
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

No photos available. If you can provide pictures please contact Castlefacts

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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 72
  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 183
  • RCHME, 1982, An inventory of the historical monuments in the County of Northampton Vol. 4: South-west Northamptonshire (HMSO) p. 24 online transcription

Primary Sources

  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1901, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III (1476-85) p. 42 online copy
  • The Grant-Ives (Bradden) collection, held by the Northamptonshire Record Office, may have relevant material (see The National Archives summary page)