Zouches Manor (also Zouches Castle) was an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

moated manor in

Fulbourn Fen Fulbourn Fen is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire. It is privately owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. There are ancient meadows on calcar ...

, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

in the village of

Fulbourn Fulbourn is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, with evidence of settlement dating back to Neolithic times. The village was probably established under its current name by 1200. The waterfowl-frequented stream after which it was named lies i ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is one of the historic Five Manors of Fulbourn and recorded to have existed 1066 AD to 1539 AD. Moat in Fulbourn Fen - geograph

Creation

The eponymous manor was built by Alan la Zouche, Earl of Brittany (the same family that held

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...

in Leicestershire) in the 13th century on an earlier site. The moat ditch and platform are likely to have been constructed in the 12th or 13th century, obscuring who exactly built the structure. It came in the hands of the Zouches in 1230, following peace with Brittany. Alan la Zouche, then viscount of Rohan, granted his Cambridgeshire lands to Roger la Zouch. The Zouches and their successors continued to hold Zouches Manor of the honor of Richmond into the 15th century in socage, rendering two gilt spurs yearly into the 15th century. After 1500 the tenure was reckoned as knight service.

Dunmowes Manor

It later came into ownership by the

Docwra family Docwra, also with spelling Dockwra, Dockwray, Dockray and other variants, is an English language surname, of Norse-Viking origin, which was significant in London and East Anglia in the 17th century. It may refer to: *Anne Docwra (1624–1710), Eng ...

when it was known as Dunmowes Manor. There is ambiguity over whether Zouches Manor and Dunmowes Manor are the same or whether the latter was built by the Dockra family in the 16th century on the site of the former. The Dockra (or Docwra) family has extensive history in the area. Dunmowes Manor took its name from the Norman surname Dunmowe (Saxon '''Dommauua''', modern English Dunmall'''). The Domesday Book recorded the family as holders of a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Dunmow. It is unclear if this is Dunmowes Manor in Fulbourn or the Essex villages 30 miles away at Great Dunmow and

Little Dunmow Little Dunmow is a village situated in rural Essex, England, in the vale of the River Chelmer about east-southeast of the town of Great Dunmow. It can be reached from the Dunmow South exit of the A120 by following the road towards Braintree (B ...

Location

The location commands access to the village and the upland areas from

The Fens The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...

and was probably chosen to defend against attack from the Fens during troubles such as the First Barons' War in the 13th century and the battles between the Romano-British (to the south), Anglo-Saxons (in East Anglia) and

Belgae The Belgae () were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Ju ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

invaders. The site has been extensively archaeologically researched.

References

{{coord, 52.1836, 0.2338, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Castles in Cambridgeshire Fulbourn