NHER 1014 (Monument record) - Episcopal chapel and fortified manor house on site of Saxon cathedral

Bishop's chapel ruins, on the site of a pre-Conquest timber cathedral.
The chapel was converted into a fortified manor house by Despencer in 1388, with contemporaneous moat and inner and outer bailey earthworks.
See (S1) and scheduling notification.

1786. Late Saxon censer found by the landlord of the adjoining inn, perhaps during the filling of the south moat.
Information from (S2).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 4 January 2008.

1872. Excavation.
Much of the accumulated material within the buildings was removed, along with parts of the clay banks added by Despenser. The excavator did not recognise the walls as pre-Conquest, or, in spite of the burials exposed, that it was a church. They noted a furnace containing slag in the nave of the church, human bones in several positions and small finds including thimbles, pottery, floor-tiles, window-glass (including a piece showing a mitre) and deer-tines, mostly from Despenser's deep pits, particularly that just to the east of the tower arch.
Information from (S2).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 4 January 2008.

1954-1958. Excavation.
These excavations revealed evidence of earlier timber structures beneath the stone church. The complete absence of Middle Saxon pottery suggests that it is unlikely that the building pre-dates the late ninth century. Evidence for a series of floors beneath the stone church show that the timber building was gradually enlarged. The excavator suggested that the first phase of the stone church dates from the 1020s or 1030s and that further work continued throughout the eleventh century.
See (S2) for further information.
The results of this work are also summarised in (S4)-(S7)
Reported in (S10).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 4 January 2008.

November 1978. Visit.
Section of medieval curtain wall to the northeast. 'Roman' tiles in building are probably that, though not necessarily so. R.R. Clarke's reference to a possible motte and bailey site could be correct if referring to the whole (unfinished) earthwork layout, and not just the outer ditch marked by the Ordnance Survey at Tower Hills. Ruins in excellent condition.
E. Rose (NAU), 23 November 1978.

1982. Re-assessment of architectural remains.
A Norman date is proposed for the whole building, on the basis of its architectural features and the construction techniques which have been employed. The proposed Norman date does not deny the possibility that the site was indeed that of the cathedral. The design of the building is without parallel in any English or French stylistic context. It remains to be determined which bishop might have been responsible for the construction of the church. Analysis revealed that a post-Conquest date is most acceptable, and taken in conjunction with the documentary reference to the cathedral as a timber chapel, the transfer of the see to Thetford in 1071 provides a suitable terminus post quem. The building's hitherto enigmatic design can now be seen as that of an episcopal chapel.
See (S3) for further information.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 7 January 2008.

Aerial photograph (S8) shows that the mound in the northeast corner site is detached from Guardianship area, and marked by the Ordnance Survey as Tower Hills, formerly extended as mound and ditch as far as the bend in the road.
E. Rose (NAU), 11 March 1985.

1987. Metal detecting.
Medieval pottery and ring found.
A. Gregory (NAU), 3 March 1988.

1989. Stray find in molehill within ruins.
Medieval pottery sherds found.
W. Milligan (NCM), 31 August 1989.

December 1994. Metal detecting.
Medieval and post medieval coins and metalwork.
D. Gurney (NLA), 23 December 1994.

1996. Earthwork Survey.
The major earthwork is the almost complete moat which comprises the inner court of the manor house complex, the southern arm being partially destroyed by garden landscaping. Within the south-west corner of this is the moated enclosure which houses the manor house. Other significant features internal to the larger enclosure are an irregular mound in the north-west corner, thought to be a prospect mound, party of a building outline and a capped well.
See report (S9) for further details. This site was included in (S10) and the survey is also noted in (S11).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 8 January 2008.

February 1997. Excavation and Watching Brief.
Small scale excavation and subsequent watching brief undertaken during renovation works to the west wall of St George's House.
No archaeological finds or features were encountered.
See report (S12) for further details.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 7 January 2008. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 25 January 2017.

January/February 2002. Metal detecting.
Post medieval coin.
Medieval belt mount.
Post medieval furniture fitting.
See lists in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 4 March 2002.

See file for full details, plans, correspondence, photographs, scheduling documents and further references.
E. Rose (NLA).

March 2019. Test Pit.
Excavation of test pit against southern boundary wall, within rear garden of Beverley, Church Lane. This was dug to provide data on ground conditions where a section of this retaining wall was cracking and leaning significantly.
The test pit revealed a natural chalky-clay deposit at a depth of c.0.35m. The traces of a probable shallow construction trench for the 19th-century retaining wall were recorded but there was no sign of the medieval moat ditch (which probably lay a few meters to the south, within the area of the lawn).
No finds were recovered.
See report (S13) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 5 February 2024.