Monument record MDO4618 - Barton Manor, Barton Hill, Shaftesbury

The presumed site of Barton Manor House, was excavated in 1951, but no building remains were found. Instead, two possibly deliberately laid yard surfaces were found together with associated drains. These features were thought to be of 18th-century date.

Berton, now called Bartonhill is mentioned in the court leat rolls of 1462 and 1472. The manor was a parcel of Shaftesbury Abbey, and granted to Sir Thomas Arundel in 1546 and later to the Earl of Pembroke. <2> The Manor House of the manor of Barton and Cann, stood in the fields at Barton Hill, where the pond now is, but there are no visible remains or pictorial record of the house. (The OS <3> siting falls approx. on the pond, which is shown on Upjohn's map <1>). ST 867231 In 1950-51 excavations were made at the site by E Jervoise, for Shaftesbury & District Historical Society, but failed to reveal the site of Barton Manor, the field having been acquired for a car park and market place. In 1950 a 15ft trench dug through a probably old hedge bank uncovered some medieval sherds and two pieces of Romano-British ware. In 1951, three trenches, each 70ft x 2ft and 40ft apart were dug across the site, with other trenches at right angles to the main ones. 18th century ware was found in an upper layer, and beneath a depression which may have been Upjohn's pond a lower layer of debris was found. This layer was to the south and sloped upwards towards the field level, further south were some ambiguous footings. <4-7> The excavations by E Jervoise in 1951 revealed the floors of two apparently 18th century yards. They were about 2-6ins thick, and consisted of a mixture of pottery, roof-tiles, glass, oyster shells and plaster rubble. Remains of a stone-lined drain thought to have served the yard or yards were also found. 12th-13th century pottery, floor tiles and glazed ridge tiles indicated medieval occupation in the vicinity. No traces of foundations were found and excavations prove that this area was not the site of the Manor House, but might have been yards belonging to it. <6> No visible trace remains of the Manor house. A new market place is being constructed over the site but no foundations have been exposed. <8> Barton Manor House appears to have been the centre of a medieval estate which extended north and north west; in the 16th century the estate had gardens, paddocks, a house, a barn, an ox shed and a pinfold in all covering 2 acres. (According to RCHM, the site of Barton Manor House at ST 86752316, was excavated in 1951, although the report which they quote (see Authy 7) does not support this). <9>

Record last edited

Oct 3 2022 10:09AM