West Stow Hall

In the civil parish of West Stow.
In the historic county of Suffolk (Modern Authority of Suffolk, 1974 county of Suffolk).

Remains of an early C16 moated house and gatehouse. The brick-built gatehouse dates from the 1520s. It is three storeyed with polygonal turrets and was originally detached from the house, standing on the opposite side of the moat. In the late C16, the two were linked by a brick colonnade, which forms a base for a timber framed superstructure. Only three bays of the early C16 house survive. Documentary sources suggest that this house was quadrangular in plan, set around a central courtyard. The present house was in use as a farmhouse in 1813 and was altered during the early C19. During this work a number of Elizabethan wall paintings were uncovered on the eastern side of the chimney stack within the gatehouse. The moat pre-dates C16 house, having formerly surrounded a medieval house on the same site. No trace of this building survives.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

listed building

Images of England

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL81617087

PastScape number; 382835

Books

Sandon, Eric, 1977, Suffolk Houses p213-5
Pevsner, N., 1961, The Buildings of England: Suffolk (London, Penguin) p448

Journal Articles

Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p227
1977, Fort Vol4 p85

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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West Stow Hall

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL81617087

Sources of information, references and further reading