Scheduled Monument: Manorial settlement at Court Farm (SM28388)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Manorial settlement at Court Farm PARISH: BERE REGIS DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 28388 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY84929466 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a manorial settlement at Court Farm, situated on level ground to the north east of the Bere Stream. The area of the manorial settlement is depicted on a map produced by Isaac Taylor in 1770. This shows the manor house and additional structures at Court Farm, all enclosed within an area to the south east of Bere Church. The eastern area of the settlement is called `Back Close' and is associated with many of the ancillary structures. The manor house formed the principal home of the Turberville family. The structure was stone-built and constructed or extensively renovated by Thomas Tuberville prior to 1587. Hutchins describes the house as `a large hall with an oriel window'. Little other detail is known, as the house was demolished around 1830. The site of the manor house is now marked by foundation levels which are visible as earthworks. These include two raised platforms with maximum dimensions of 12m-20m by 25m-40m and c.0.5m in height, two sunken platforms of similar proportions and a probable fishpond to the south west with maximum dimensions of 20m by 11m and c.0.5m in depth, associated with an outer bank 5m wide and c.0.35m high. To the east of these earthworks are a pair of stone-built cottages which date from the later 17th century. The cottages are known to occupy the site of former manorial outbuildings, as a drawing dating to 1786 illustrates a granary which has since become incorporated into one of the cottages. Excluded from the scheduling are the structures of the two cottages which are occupied as residences (Listed Grade II) and the fence posts and gates relating to the field boundaries, although the underlying ground is included in each case. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Medieval manorial settlements, comprising small groups of houses with associated gardens, yards and paddocks, supported communities devoted primarily to agriculture, and acted as the foci for manorial administration. Although the sites of many of these settlements have been occupied continuously down to the present day, many others declined in size or were abandoned at some time during the medieval and post-medieval periods, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. The reasons for desertion were varied but often reflected declining economic viability, changes in landuse such as enclosure or emparkment, or population fluctuations as a result of widespread epidemics such as the Black Death. As a consequence of their abandonment, these settlements are frequently undisturbed by later occupation and contain well-preserved archaeological deposits, providing information on the diversity of medieval settlement patterns and farming economy, and on the structure and changing fortunes of manorial communities. Despite the demolition of the manor house, much of the manorial settlement at Court Farm survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument, the landscape in which it was constructed and the economy of the community. Historical sources, including maps, provide a clear indication of the site's original extent. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 26th October 1971 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 772 NAME: Site of Manor House near Court Farm The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 28388 NAME: Manorial settlement at Court Farm SCHEDULING REVISED ON 05th March 1997

Record last edited

Dec 13 2013 12:13PM