Letheringham Hall

Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House

There are earthwork remains

NameLetheringham Hall
Alternative NamesOld Hall
Historic CountrySuffolk
Modern AuthoritySuffolk
1974 AuthoritySuffolk
Civil ParishLetheringham

in 1448 Sir Robert Wyngfield complained that Gilbert Debenham, with the Duke of Norfolk and others, came to his house at Letheringham, broke down his walls, towers, and stone chimneys, set his beds alight, hunted deer in his park, carried away his chests of charters and much valuable property, and assaulted his servants. (Emery)

There are no apparent remains of the original Letheringham Hall. Old Hall (C17) and C16 barn are ... not outstanding. Around the Hall is a moat c 70.0 m square overall, waterfilled, and with arms averaging c 9.0 m in width. At the W corner of the moat is a feed channel. (PastScape–Field Investigators Comments-F1 JRL 30-OCT-73)

Gatehouse Comments

A fashionable moat and walls were no defence against a band of armed men without a garrison within the building although the fact that Wyngfield's house was attacked does show that the defensibility of buildings was an issue. Compare with Little Wenham Hall the lightly defended home of Gilbert Debenham.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

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 ReferenceTM279580
Latitude52.173511505127
Longitude1.33265995979309
Eastings627960
Northings258040
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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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) (Shown on map of fortified houses of East Anglia)
  • Wall, 1911, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Suffolk Vol. 1 p. 613 online copy
  • Copinger, W.A., 1909, Manors of Suffolk Vol. 4 p. 306-09 (manorial history) online copy

Journals

  • Linzi Everett, 2009, 'Archaeology in Suffolk 2008' Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History Vol. 42.1 p. 78 (slight) online copy