List of Monuments Especially Worthy of Preservation

An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1916.

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'List of Monuments Especially Worthy of Preservation', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West, (London, 1916) pp. 358-361. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/essex/vol1/pp358-361 [accessed 24 April 2024]

In this section

SCHEDULE B.

LIST OF MONUMENTS SELECTED BY THE COMMISSION AS ESPECIALLY WORTHY OF PRESERVATION.

2. ASHDON.

Roman:—(3) Tumuli, known as the Bartlow Hills. The most remarkable example, both for size and contents, of an important type of Romano-British interment, of native origin.

Condition—Four larger mounds well preserved; two smaller mounds faint.

8. BELCHAMP WALTER.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church op St. Mary the Virgin, with fine 14th-century arch in the nave.

Condition—Good; some ivy on the walls.

12. BOCKING.

Secular:—(6) Dorewards Hall. The S.W. end is good 16th-century work.

Condition—Good, plaster defective.

(27) House, now four tenements, formerly the Woolpack Inn, has carved bressumers, bay windows and remains of pargetting of c. 1590.

Condition—Fairly good.

16. CASTLE HEDINGHAM.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Nicholas. The church is architecturally important, and the 16th-century Vere monument, the 12th-century doors and the 14th and 15th-century misericords are noteworthy fittings.

Condition—Good.

Secular:—(3) Castle, with early 12th-century keep (one of the finest and best preserved buildings of its class in England), late 15th-century bridge, and earthworks.

Condition—Of keep and bridge, good; of earthworks, fairly good.

17. CHICKNEY.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin. An unusually complete example of pre-Conquest work, erratically planned.

Condition—Good.

19. CLAVERING.

Secular:—(2) Castle. An earthwork, possibly of pre-Conquest origin.

Condition—Fairly good.

(10) House and Shop, of c. 1600 and c. 1690, with noteworthy fittings.

Condition—Fairly good.

22. ELSENHAM.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. St. Mary the Virgin, dates from the 12th century. Among the fittings is a 12th-century coffin lid.

Condition—Good.

24. FINCHINGFIELD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St John the Baptist, dates from the 12th century: the W. doorway is good late 12th-century work. Among the fittings are the early 16th-century Berners monument, the 14th and 15th-century screens, and the 14th-century S. door.

Condition—Good, generally. Cracks are visible in the E. wall of the nave; the N. arcade of the chancel is out of the perpendicular, and some window-tracery is decayed.

(3) Spains Hall. Late 16th-century brickwork with carved woodwork on the N.W. front, and lead rainwater-heads.

Condition—Good.

26. GESTINGTHORPE.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin. The W. tower and the roof of the nave are good examples of early 16th-century work.

Condition—Good.

27. GOSFIELD.

Secular:—(3) Gosfield Hall. Mid 16th-century.

Condition—Good, much altered.

28. GREAT BARDFIELD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, with open stone screen, of late 14th-century date, and elaborately carved beams, dated 1618, in the roof of the chancel.

Condition—Good.

30. GREAT DUNMOW.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, with 14th-century chancel and 15th-century tower.

Condition—Good, much restored.

31. GREAT EASTON.

Secular:—(2) Mount and Bailey. A well defined mount.

Condition—Of mount, fairly good; of bailey, incomplete.

32. GREAT MAPLESTEAD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Giles, with 12th-century apse, and 17th-century monuments.

Condition—Good, much restored.

33. GREAT SALING.

Secular:—(2) SalingHall. Late 17th-century.

Condition—Good.

34. GREAT SAMPFORD.

Ecclesiastical:—Parish Church of St. Michael, with good 14th-century detail; consecration crosses, 14th-century font and late 16th-century cupboard.

Condition—Of chancel, good; other stonework much decayed.

35. GREAT YELDHAM.

Ecclesiastical:—Parish Church of St. Andrew. The plan shows the 14th and 15th-century towers.

Condition—Good.

36. HADSTOCK.

Ecclesiastical:—Parish Church of St. Botolph. A remarkable cruciform church, of pre-Conquest date, with peculiar ornament. It is possibly the minster erected by Canute in 1020, to commemorate his victory over Edmund Ironside.

Condition—Structurally sound, somewhat disfigured by plaster and whitewash.

37. HALSTEAD RURAL.

Secular:—(1) Stansted Hall. One wing of a large 16th-century house.

Condition—Good, much altered.

41. HENHAM.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, dates from the 13th century. The detail of the 14th-century N. arcade of the nave is noteworthy.

Condition—Structurally sound, external stonework and plaster in bad repair.

45. LITTLE BARDFIELD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Katherine. The large W. tower is striking pre-Conquest work.

Condition—Good, much restored.

46. LITTLE CHESTERFORD.

Secular(2):—The Manor House. A remarkable example of 13th-century domestic architecture, with an aisled hall.

Condition—Fairly good.

47. LITTLE DUNMOW.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin. An interesting survival of monastic work, with late 12th-century arcade, and 14th-century windows and panelling. Among the fittings are two 15th-century altar-tombs.

Condition—Good.

48. LITTLE EASTON.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, with noteworthy monuments of the 13th, 15th, and 17th centuries in the chancel, and late 15th-century paintings in the nave.

Condition—Good, much restored.

49. LITTLE MAPLESTEAD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, dates from the 14th century, with apsidal chancel and one of the five naves with circular aisles now remaining in England

Condition—Good, much restored.

50. LITTLE SAMPFORD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, with 14th-century W. tower and fine 16th and 17th-century monuments.

Condition—Good.

Secular:—(2) Little Sampford Hall, with handsome staircase of early 17th-century date.

Condition—Much neglected.

52. LITTLEBURY.

Prehistoric:—(1) Contour Camp, with complete outline of defences.

Condition—Fairly good.

54. NEWPORT.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, interesting for its development, and for its 13th-century glass, 14th-century chest, and 15th-century lectern.

Condition—Good.

Secular:—(5) Martin's Farm. A 15th and 16th-century house, with 16th-century fireplaces and chimney-stacks.

Condition—Good, except at the S. end.

(7) Crown House, has good pargetting and a shell hood dated 1692.

Condition—Good.

(20) Monk's Barn. A 15th-century house with noteworthy wood carving below the oriel window.

Condition—Fairly good, restored.

57. PANFIELD.

Secular:—(3) Panfield Hall. A 16th-century house with remains of an original open roof.

Condition—Good.

58. PENTLOW.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Gregory, with 12th-century apse, 12th-century font and 16th-century monument.

Condition—Good.

61. RAYNE.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of All Saints. The W. tower is a good example of late 15th or early 16th-century brickwork.

Condition—Good.

62. RICKLING.

Secular:—(3) Rickling Hall. Interesting remains of a quadrangular house of c. 1500.

Condition—Fairly good.

64. SAFFRON WALDEN.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin. One of the finest and largest churches in Essex. Among the fittings are 14th-century carvings in the N. aisle, and a 16th-century Audley tomb.

Condition—Good, much restored.

Secular:—(2) Walden Castle. Ruin of a 12th-century keep.

Condition—Well cared for.

(3) Audley End. The house is very handsome Jacobean work. Among the fittings, the screen and ceiling in the great hall, the N. staircase, and various fireplaces deserve attention.

Condition—Good, much restored.

(4) Abbey Farm and Almshouse. A double quadrangular almshouse of the 16th century, on a large scale; the roof-truss of the chapel and the stained glass are noteworthy.

Condition—Poor.

(6) St. Aylotts. Brick and timber house of c. 1500.

Condition—Good.

(21) House, at the corner of Myddylton Place. A good example of domestic architecture of late 15th-century date.

Condition—Good.

(90–93) Houses and Shops, in Church Street, of the 14th, 15th, and 17th centuries.

Condition—Good.

(107) House and Shop, in King Street. A 15th-century house with remains of original shop-front.

Condition— Good.

Unclassified:—(157) Battle or Repell Ditches. The remains of a large rectangular earthwork of uncertain date.

Condition—Fragmentary.

(159) The Maze. A good example of the type of monument.

Condition—Good, much restored.

65. SHALFORD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Andrew. Among the fittings are 14th-century heraldic glass, 14th and 15th-century monuments and a 14th-century S. door.

Condition—Good.

67. STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin. The chancel-arch and the two doorways in the nave are rich 12th-century work.

Condition—Good, much restored.

Secular:—(2) Stansted Castle. A strong earthwork of the ring and bailey type.

Condition—Masonry, poor; earthworks, fairly good.

68. STAMBOURNE.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Peter, with fine 11th-century W. tower. Among the fittings are the remains of an early 16th-century screen, and stained glass.

Condition—Good.

69. STEBBING.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, with fine 14th-century work. Among the fittings, the stone chancel-screen should be compared with that at Great Bardfield.

Condition—Fairly good structurally; some of the stonework is decayed.

(2) Friends' Meeting House, dated 1674. The original furniture is noteworthy.

Condition—Bad.

70. STEEPLE BUMPSTEAD.

Secular:—(3) Moyns Park. The front is handsome work of late 16th-century date; the S. wing has good ornamental detail of the first half of the 16th century.

Condition—Good.

71. STRETHALL.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin of pre-Conquest date: the W. angles of the nave are typical examples of "long and short work" and the chancel-arch is interesting.

Condition—Good.

74. THAXTED.

Ecclesiastical:—(2) Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and St. Laurence. One of the finest and largest churches in Essex, with a 15th-century reredos in the N. transept, 14th and 15th-century glass, and a 15th-century font-case among the fittings.

Condition—Fairly good; some detail much weathered; tower under repair.

Secular:—(6) Horham Hall. Tudor and earlier work; the oriel in the hall and the 15th-century roof-trusses in the earlier wing are noteworthy.

Condition—Good.

(9) The Guildhall. One of the few remaining mediæval Guildhalls.

Condition—Good, much restored.

(10–12) Houses. An interesting group of 15th-century houses.

Condition—Fairly good.

76. TILTY.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, formerly the gate-house chapel of Tilty monastery. The chancel is handsome work of early 14th-century date, with good piscinæ and sedilia.

Condition—Fairly good.

80. WENDENS AMBO.

Ecclesiastical:—(2) Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, with W. tower of late 11th-century date. The Roman tiles built into this, as into many Essex churches, have been used with striking effect.

Condition—Fairly good.

81. WETHERSFIELD.

Ecclesiastical:—(1) Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene, with late 12th-century tower, and late 15th-century effigies in the chancel.

Condition—Poor.

82. WICKEN BONHUNT.

Ecclesiastical:—(2) Chapel of St. Helen.

Domestic chapel of the 12th century.

Condition—Fairly good; has suffered from its present use as a stable, but is well cared for.

84. WIDDINGTON.

Secular:—(4) Barn at Prior's Hall. A good 15th-century barn.

Condition—Fairly good.

85. WIMBISH.

Secular:—(14) Tiptofts Manor House. A remarkable survival of a timber-framed building, with an aisled hall, and fine details of the 14th century.

Condition—Good, but the modern brickwork of the solar wing is badly cracked.

(16) Broadoaks Manor House. One wing of a house of c. 1560.

Condition—Fairly good, but original brickwork and stone much perished, and a bad crack in the N. front.