Monument record 4398/1 - Hanging Houghton Manor

The buried and earthwork remains of a great house and gardens at Hanging Houghton. The house was owned by the Montague family from 1471 until it was abandoned in 1665, following the demise of the entire family during the plague. It survived as ruins as late as the 18th century. The remains of the house and gardens are represented by a series of rectangular areas defined by low earthworks and banks, measuring up to 0.75 metres high. The remains of the house are visible as a low rectangular building platform measuring 40 metres by 30 metres in the north eastern angle of the garden. Immediately to the west of the house there are earthwork enclosures marked by low boundary banks which indicate the location of formal knot gardens. Scheduled.

{1} SP 750737. Hanging Houghton manor recorded as belonging to the Montagu family from 1471 until 1670 when it was sold to the Isham's after the death of the Montagu household in the plague of 1665. A parish map of that date shows the S elevation of the house, with three bays probably with a central porch, of late C16th or early C17th. The house stands at the NE of an elaborate formal garden. The house site only survives, indicated by low (0.5m) scarps. Other earthworks locate the position of two knot-gardens and suggest other features. [RCHM plan].

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.118/Site 13 (unchecked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1973, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1972, p.27 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN8956.

<3> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.116 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77326.

<4> Smith R., 1655, Manuscript Map of Hanging Houghton (NRO Map 568), (unchecked) (Map). SNN19590.

<5> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, A/P (RAF VAP CPE/UK/1994, 1378-9) (Photographs). SNN104890.

<6> Aerial Photograph, A/P (CUAP, AK70) (Photographs). SNN112974.

<7> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 1986, DOE Scheduled Ancient Monuments: Northamptonshire (Parts 5-8) (Schedule). SNN104787.

<8> RCHME, Undated, RCHME Inventory: Northamptonshire II (Central), 889798 (Archive). SNN112900.

Record last edited

Jul 11 2023 12:05PM