Monument record 1406/2/1 - Site of medieval/post-medieval manor house and gardens, Easton Maudit

Easton Maudit manor house, probably rebuilt in 1600 but maybe retaining earlier elements. Demolished in 1801 Summary from record 1406/2/2: Earthwork remains of the gardens associated with Easton Maudit manor. Of probable 17th or 18th century date. To the west is a modern arable field which was known as 'Pleasure ground' in 1840.

{3} Illustration of 1721 of the east front of the manor house (no garden shown).

{4} The walls of the manor house of Easton Maudit were identified by the farmer during dry weather as a result of the parching of the grass.

{5} The mansion of the Yelvertons was demolished early in the C19th; it stood to the north of the church.

{6} The house was finally pulled down in 1801, but an engraving of 1721 suggests that it was a late medieval building, much altered and added to in the early C17th. It was probably altered and rebuilt by a member of the Yelverton family which acquired the manor in 1578, and almost certainly the new work was carried out by Henry Yelverton (1566-1629). It was a large house and was rated at 43 hearths in the 1673 Hearth Tax Returns. In 1801 the estate passed to the Comptons of Castle Ashby who then demolished the house.
The remains consist of two distinct parts. On the east is a series of indeterminate earthworks forming no coherent plan and these are probably the site of the house, which appears to have faced east, arranged around a small court.
Earthworks; to the west of the house site are two long parallel scarps 0.25m high, running east to west, which are probably the remains of the garden, presumably of the 17th or 18th century. To the north-west is a raised circular area. On the north side two rectangular scarped platforms project into the adjacent field. Further west across a lane which dates after 1840 is a modern arable field bounded on the west by a long rectangular pond and with four cedar trees on its north side and one on the south. The pond was probably the west boundary of the original garden, the whole area being called Pleasure Ground in 1840.

{7} The Earl of Sussex hath an antient Mansion house, the chief residence of the family. The late medieval building was altered and added to in the early C17th.

{8} The manor-house, or hall, was pulled down immediately after the sale of the estate in 1801, but a drawing of the east front made in 1721 shows a façade of considerable extent, two stories high, with a return south wing of three stories forming two sides of a court, which appears to have been inclosed on the north by a hedge and trees, and open to the east.

There was already a house in existence when Christopher Yelverton purchased the estate in 1578, but the drawing of 1721 shows a rather widespreading manor-house of the Jacobean period with central porch, subsidiary side porches, stone gables and dormers, and mullioned windows, some of which had been replaced by sashes. The general disposition was symmetrical, though the individual features were irregular. Two doorways with pointed arches may have belonged to an older house, but it would appear that the house was rebuilt about 1600. The Rev. W. Cole, who accompanied Horace Walpole when he visited Easton Maudit in 1763, mentions a 'fine large drawing-room', and notes 'two or three old coats of alliances of the Yelverton family in the staircase windows', as well as a shield of the family arms in the chapel, but the only relics of the house known to have been preserved are two 18th-century carved chimney-pieces and two sets of stone gate piers. At the time of its demolition the house contained seventy rooms.

{11} In the Hearth Tax of 1670, 40 hearths were recorded at Easton Maudit. There was a Royal visit in 1636

{12} The Yelverton family acquired the manor in 1578, and new work was probably done by Henry Yelverton (1566-1629). In 1801 the estate passed to the Comptons at Castle Ashby, and the house was demolished.

{15} The farmer indicated what he believes to be the site of the manor house at SP 88925885 and says that after a dry spell of weather the lines of foundations can be seenas parch marks. His siting is substantiated by an old pen and ink drawing (udt) retained in the farmhouse. There is some disturbance at the site but it forms no coherent pattern.

<1> BM ADD MS 32467, (unchecked) (Document). SNN48701.

<2> 1879, The Archaeological Journal (6), p.92 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN54773.

<3> 1971, Northamptonshire Past and Present (4/6), p.360 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN42342.

<4> Isham G., 1969, Easton Maudit, (unchecked) (Report). SNN56381.

<5> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<6> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.45-6 Site 11 (checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<7> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.163 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77326.

<8> Salzman L.F.(ed), 1937, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.12-14 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100371.

<9> 1921, Associated Architectural Society Reports, p.95-102 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN69636.

<10> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP85NE4 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<11> Heward J.; Taylor R., 1996, The Country Houses of Northamptonshire, p. 331 (Book). SNN41757.

<12> BURT J., NOTE, (unchecked) (Note). SNN42343.

<13> 1921, Associated Architectural Society Reports, p.95-102 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN69636.

<14> Salzman L.F.(ed), 1937, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.12-14 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100371.

<15> Baird, J., 1970, Field investigators comments, F1 JB 8-SEP-70 (Notes). SNN110341.

<16> Historic England, Undated, EASTON MAUDIT HOUSE, EASTON MAUDIT, BF061864 (Archive). SNN116410.

Record last edited

Dec 4 2024 12:11PM