Monument record 3253/1 - Great Lodge, Higham Park

Earthwork remains of a medieval moat, and the site of a hunting lodge first mentioned in the 1327. In the 15th Century a hall, chapel, chamber, kitchen, brewhouse and bakehouse were listed. In the grounds were a dovecot and two fishponds. The buildings were demolished in the 17th Century. The medieval moated site is visible as earthworks on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data. Located immediately adjacent Higham Park, the moat ditch is up to 12.5 metres wide, is subrectangular and encloses an area about 123 metres SW-NE and 73 metres NW-SE. The SE facing side is curvilinear and about 192.5 metres long, the last 46 metres extending N beyond the moat, which joins to the stream feeding in from the NE. The inside of the moat is flanked by a linear earthwork bank. Within the moat enclosure, are a number of parallel linear banks, as well as linear ditches which may be fishponds. Aerial photographs taken in 2018 show heavy tree cover along the course of the ditch.

{1} The keepers lodge was first mentioned in 1327 but is probably older. Periodic repairs to it are recorded from 1391 onwards. In the C15th a hall, chapel, chamber, kitchen, brewhouse and bakehouse were listed. The grounds included a dovecot and two fishponds. They were probably demolished in the C17th when Higham Park Farm was built. The moat is now in poor condition and much damaged. It forms a rectangular enclosure, formerly surrounded by a deep water-filled ditch, and completely dominated by the rising ground on both sides of the valley. The ditch has now been reduced to little more than a drain on its north-west and south-west sides and largely filled in on the north-east. Only on the south-east are its original dimensions ascertainable, being some 10m wide and up to 2m deep from the outside and only 1m deep from the interior. There is a slight inner bank on the north-west, south-west and south-east sides, but on the north-east a much larger bank lies outside the ditch. This is presumably the dam which held the water in the ditch. The interior is featureless but for modern disturbance, but one slight rectangular platform is traceable near the north-west side.

{4} Within Higham Park, near the main entrance, which is still used, is a moated enclosure, presumably the site of the Hall, Chapel and other buildings of the great Lodge frequently mentioned in the manorial records of several centuries. The enclosure occupied just over 1 1/2 acres, two sides of the broad moat are still open and the line of the remainder are easily traced. The Lodge was regarded as the Capital Messuage of the Rushden sub-manor and repairs are noted between 1391 and 1607. Disparked during the Civil War when trees and deer were all destroyed, and the land converted to arable and pasture.

{5}At the northern entrance to the park was the complex of domestic and administrative buildings, including the Great Lodge sited within the rectangular moat. The 1327 inquisition described the lodge as the capital messuage of the Rushden manor. Extensive repairs were made to the kitchen in 1391-2. in 1418-9 the thatched roof of the hall and chamber was replaced by slates. In the survey of 1649, Higham Park Lodge is described as 'near the south-west corner, hall and parlour, kitchen and other necessary rooms below stairs with linen chamber over them; 1 barne of 3 bays, 1 stable 4 bays, one dove house well stored, 2 fishponds and a large fould yard, containing in all 2 acres.

{6} Great Lodge moat is located on the edge of the medieval deer park of Higham Park, close to the park entrance. The rectangular moated site covers an area measuring approximately 90m x 130m and is surrounded on three sides by ditches up to 2m wide and 8m deep. Originally the ditches were deeper and on the north east side the ditch is filled in. There are traces of a slight inner bank on north west, south west and south east sides of the moat island and remains of a larger outer bank on the north east side. A causeway crosses the north west arm to the moat island, where a small rectangular platform indicates the location of a former building. The moat island is known to be the site of the keeper's Great Lodge, which was first recorded in 1327, but is considered to have been built before this date and repairs to it are recorded from 1391 onwards. In the 15th century a hall, chapel, chamber, kitchen, brewhouse and bakehouse were recorded on the site. The remains of two fishponds, now much altered, can still be seen to the north-west of the moated site but they are not included in the scheduling. The buildings on the moat island are known to have been demolished when the present farm north-west of the moat was built in the 17th century. Made up roadways are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath is included.

{7} Survey was undertaken in 1975. It was evidently a wet moat with streams feeding in on the south side and draining into fishponds on the north side. It seems rather low-lying for a homestead moat and is also rather large by comparison with other Northamptonshire examples. It may well be a stock enclosure.

{9-11} A medieval moated site is visible as earthworks on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data and was mapped as part of the Bedford Borough NMP project. Located immediately adjacent Higham Park and centred at SP 98229 64201, the moat ditch is up to 12.5 metres wide, is subrectangular and encloses an area about 123 metres SW-NE and 73 metres NW-SE. The SE facing side is curvilinear and about 192.5 metres long, the last 46 metres extending N beyond the moat, which joins to the stream feeding in from the NE. The inside of the moat is flanked by a linear earthwork bank. Within the moat enclosure, are a number of parallel linear banks, as well as linear ditches which may be fishponds. Aerial photographs taken in 2018 show heavy tree cover along the course of the ditch.

{12} The earthworks comprised a small moated platform with a longer ditched enclosure extending SW. The two southerly arms of the moat have now been filled in leaving only the perimeter ditch. A raised area on what was the small island probably marks the site of the house.
See annotated 25' survey.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.69-70 (checked) (Series). SNN77379.

<2> BERESFORD M.W., 1971, History On The Ground, p.215-19 (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN60521.

<3> Page W. (ed), 1930, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.279-80 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100370.

<4> Kerr W.J.B., 1922, Higham Ferrers Castle and Park, p.150-173 (unchecked) (Article). SNN60514.

<5> Hall D.; Handing R., 1985, Rushden, A Duchy of Lancaster Village (Book). SNN105284.

<6> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 1986, DOE Scheduled Ancient Monuments: Northamptonshire (Parts 5-8) (Schedule). SNN104787.

<7> Aberg, A (Ed), 1976, Moated Sites Research Group Report 3, p. 11 & plan (Monograph). SNN66232.

<8> Council for British Archaeology, 1976, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (34), p. 25 & Fig 4 (Newsletter). SNN104928.

<9> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, RAF/CPE/UK/1994 FS 2219 13-APR-1947 (Photographs). SNN104890.

<10> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, LIDAR SP 9963 Environment Agency 1m DTM 04-JUL-2006–03-AUG-2017 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

<11> Vertical Aerial Photograph, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SP9864 12-JUN-2018 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<12> Seaman, B H, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, F1 BHS 15-JUL-70 (Notes). SNN111541.

<13> Bedford Borough Council HER, Undated, Bedford Borough NMP (Archive). SNN113023.

<14> RCHME, Undated, RCHME Inventory: Northamptonshire I (North-East), 890491 (Archive). SNN113295.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 7:23PM