Monument record MLI51004 - Harpswell Hall: a post-medieval house and gardens overlying medieval settlement remains

Summary

Harpswell Hall: a post-medieval house and gardens overlying medieval settlement remains immediately south of Hall Farm

Type and Period (3)

  • (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Extensive formal garden earthworks, apparently created by post medieval emparking, overlie the earthworks of the medieval settlement remains. {1} The late 16th or early 17th century gardens at Harpswell were updated by the addition of a formal park around 1700 and then incorporated into a fully landscaped parkland, including a serpentine lake, in the mid 18th century. The gardens are almost certainly the creation of successive generations of the Whichcote family, perhaps prior to and following their removal of the village of Harpswell in the early 17th century. The earthwork remains comprise the buried foundations of the Hall demolished in about 1836, a prospect mound (PRN 51002) to the north-west, an extensive terraced garden to the northeast, and in between these a fine sunken garden, just to the north of the site of the Hall. A broad sunken driveway, formerly tree-lined on its south side, ran in an easterly direction from the Hall and focussed the view on the church tower nearby. To the west of the Hall a large moat (PRN 50294) forms another ornamental element. To the south of the drive the natural watercourse has been widened into a 'serpentine' water feature (PRN 51005), which together with 'the wilderness' further south probably represents a later attempt to make the existing gardens and park less formal and more in keeping with the landscaping ideas of the mid 18th century. For a detailed history and description see Everson, Taylor and Dunn, 1991. {2} The settlement which had become established at Harpswell during the Middle Ages was partly removed by the Whichcotes in the late 16th or early 17th century, when the house and gardens were established. The Whichcote family remained resident until 1776, making additions and alterations to the gardens during the 17th and 18th centuries. Harpswell Hall was demolished in the mid 19th century and now survives as a buried feature, while the remains of the formal gardens are visible as earthworks. Depicted on a late 18th century drawing by Nattes, the Hall was an early 17th century H-shaped house with 18th century extensions to the main building. Immediately to the north are the earthworks of a square sunken garden, and a rectangular extension to the east side includes opposing hollows thought to indicate the position of steps down to the garden or niches for statuary. Adjacent to the west of the sunken garden is a raised area indicating the location of former paths and flower beds, leading towards the ornamental moat and prospect mound. {11} The course of the now defunct serpentine to the east of the Hall is not included in the scheduling. All fences are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. {11} See also PRNs 51002, 51003 and 50294, also included as part of the scheduling.

Sources/Archives (11)

  •  Index: SMR FILE. HARPSWELL. SK 98 NW:P,1977, TMA.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. pp.55,107-9;Figs78-80;NOTE.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). 2nd Rev Edn p368.
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 2928/38-39,1976, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 2931/35-36,1977, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 5164/14,1977, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 2926/23-28A,1976, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 2924/23-24 (2942/23-4),1980, .
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. SK9389:LI.611.3.1-7,1994, .
  •  Aerial Photograph: COLE, C.. 1993-2002. InnerVisions Business Presentations. 203/0997/9,1997, .
  •  Scheduling Record: English Heritage. 2000. Harpswell Hall: a post-medieval house and gardens overlying medieval settlement remains. SAM 33122.

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Grid reference Centred SK 9310 8982 (927m by 596m) Centre
Civil Parish HARPSWELL, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (5)

Related Events/Activities (1)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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