Southchurch Hall is Grade I

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

ed house located in

Southchurch Southchurch is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. England. In 1911 the parish had a population of 3954. History In 824 AD, a Saxon thegn, Leofstan pre ...

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. The Hall was home to farming families until the 1920s. In 1930 it was extensively restored and presented to the town of

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

by the Dowsett Family. The Hall has been listed in Jenkins' top 1,000 houses in England. The moat surrounding the house is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

The current hall was built c.1321 – 1364, and has a Tudor and a 1930s extension. The Great Hall is still presented in its 14th-century form. At this time the Great Hall would have had a central fireplace, and original smoke-blackened timbers can still be seen in the roof (although much of the roof was replaced in the 1930s restoration). At the end of the Great Hall is the cross-wing, housing the North and South Solars. These rooms reflect changing fashions for more intimate rooms; the South Solar is a late 16th- or early 17th-century extension. The hall probably stands on the site of a much earlier Saxon hall. The land on which it stands was given to the monks of Canterbury in 823 AD, and the tenants of the hall subsequently inherited the family name "de Southchurch". This custom survived until the death of Peter de Southchurch in 1309.

Collections

In the 1930s extension to the hall, there is an exhibition of artefacts discovered during archaeological investigations of the site. The collections at Southchurch Hall include the oil painting ''Attack on Southchurch Hall during the Peasants' Revolt, 1381'', by Alan Sorrell (1969).

Gallery

Image:Southchurch south solar small.jpg, The South Solar of Southchurch Hall Image:Southchurch Hall, front - geograph.org.uk - 314982.jpg, Southchurch Hall Image:Southchurch Hall.jpg, Southchurch Hall, showing the North and South Solars (the South being a Tudor extension), with the Main Hall stretching into the distance.

External links

Southend Museums Service

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures completed in 1364 Houses completed in the 14th century Buildings and structures in Southend-on-Sea Grade I listed buildings in Essex Historic house museums in Essex