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Hooke Court, in Dorset, is home today to a residential study centre and a small private school and nursery. Most of its surviving structures are believed to date from the English civil war in the mid-1600s, when the house was reported to have been burnt down by Parliamentarian troops.
But the house is also full of interesting features that point to a much earlier original construction date. And there are various clues that suggest it was once much grander than it appears now.
Peter and Mandy Cooper moved into the property in 1994 after carrying out extensive restoration work. Mandy, who runs the education centre, called in Time Team to investigate, so that she could tell the children (who played an active part in Time Team's visit), visitors and local people more about the history of Hooke Court.
History and architecture
Time Team's investigations at Hooke Court included more than the usual quotient of historical and architectural information. This was because both historical documents and the remaining building had a lot to reveal about the site.
Indeed, before even a clod of earth had been turned by the diggers, buildings archaeologist Jonathan Foyle was able to tell a great deal about the different phases of construction at Hooke Court. In addition to the more obviously modern structures on the site, he identified the porch and an extension to the right of the main building as Victorian additions. He dated the top storey of the main structure to the mid-17th century the time of the English civil war, when most of the old house was reported to have been burnt down and the surviving wing was rebuilt. And beneath this, Jonathan delineated the traces of a medieval building two lines of quoin stones up to about three-quarters of the current height. He identified this as a 15th-century block to which another block was added in Tudor times.
The surviving medieval structure would have formed part of a much bigger manor house. This would have included a gatehouse and great hall, as well as other ancillary buildings. The part that remains today was identified by its narrow garderobe, or privy, windows as an old accommodation block. With Domesday Book records showing that there was a manor here back in the 11th century, Time Team faced a very complicated sequence of buildings that would have gone through various phases of construction and demolition over the years. It would be a massive challenge for the archaeologists to sort out one phase from another.
Agreeing to disagree
They got off to a good start with a couple of trenches opened on the footprint of the old north wing, which was demolished in the 1960s. With the help of old plans and photographs, they were able to identify this as the former gatehouse.
Despite plenty of good targets provided by the geophysics surveys, the search for the site of the great hall proved more problematic. In the end, different members of the team had to agree to disagree. Jonathan Foyle eventually identified a 16 × 48 feet building with two storeys as a rare example of a first floor hall, of which a few are known in Dorset. Other team members, including Phil Harding and geophysics expert John Gater, disagreed, arguing that a more orthodox single-floor hall was more likely to have stood in an unexcavated part of the site.
'Best find for years'
Meanwhile, Stewart Ainsworth and historian Sam Newton found evidence of an even earlier building at Hooke Court: a Saxon 'thanely residence'. The children from Hooke school carried out their own geophysics survey and excavation of a dovecote. And among a rich haul of finds, ranging from great piles of 17th-century pottery to a decorated tile dating from around 1500 that almost certainly came from a great hall or chapel, there was one that Mick Aston described as 'the best find we've had for years'.
This was a 15th-century copper tap, uncovered in excellent condition. As Mick put it, 'We're so used to them today that we forget that until the 19th century they were very rare indeed.'
Time Team has never had any success when it's gone searching for Saxon palaces, such as King Offa's, at Sutton, Herefordshire, in the 2000 series, or at Eastry, in Kent, in 2006. That's perhaps one reason why the team avoided the term 'palace' when the researches of landscape archaeologist Stewart Ainsworth and historian Sam Newton suggested that there had once been an important Anglo-Saxon building on the site at Hooke Court.
The term Sam Newton preferred was 'thanely residence' – which you wouldn't have found anywhere on the web before it appeared here.
A thane was a man granted land by the king, usually in return for military service, in Anglo-Saxon England, and a thanely residence was a specific kind of fortified building. At Hooke, we know from the Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, that the thane in question was the lord of the manor, Aelfric.
Sam Newton: 'We know from other references in Domesday that Aelfric was the king's thane – that is a warrior who owes special allegiance to the king. The estate at Hooke was given to him by Edward the Confessor. But what's particularly interesting is that he's still the king's thane in 1086, so his allegiance switches to William the Conqueror after the Norman invasion.'
Sam's belief that there could have been a thanely residence here, occupied by Aelfric, tied in with Stewart's research into the site. He had already discovered a nineteenth-century tithe map showing that what had been thought to be a moat surrounding Hooke Court was in large part a Victorian creation. In fact, the water-filled ditches shown on the tithe map were likely to have originated in a Saxon ditch at one end of a ridge of high ground, and would have been designed to stop anyone coming along the ridge during the Saxon period.
'There is a strong chance that there's a Saxon residence on the site somewhere,' according to Stewart, but like the Saxon palaces that Time Team has failed to find in the past, a wooden structure of this sort is very hard to locate.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Sam Newton is a Time Team historian, who first featured in The King of Bling special in June 2005 and began appearing regularly on the programme in the 2006 series. After early experiences in archaeology and woodturning, he graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first in English Literature in 1983 and went on to research the Old English epic of Beowulf.
Sam was awarded his PhD in 1991 and published his first book, The Origins of Beowulf and the pre-Viking Kingdom of East Anglia, two years later. Since then he has been working as an independent scholar in early medieval studies. He also conducts guided tours to Sutton Hoo, Rendlesham and other sites throughout eastern England. His latest book, The Reckoning of King Rædwald, was published in 2003.
Sam is also a director of Wuffing Education, which he co-founded in 2002 to provide those interested in all things Anglo-Saxon with the chance to meet specialists and fellow enthusiasts for in-depth presentations and discussions. His website at www.wuffings.co.uk provides details of the current programme of study days, as well as providing information about the early medieval kingdom of East Anglia and its Wuffing dynasty together with aspects of the literature, legend, history, and archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England.
Watched the programme, browsed the web pages? Now try our quick quiz to see how much you know about medieval manor houses.
In a medieval manor, what was the purpose of the 'solar', a room that gets its name from its large windows?
The lady of the manor's dressing room
The lord of the manor's private quarters
The main dining room
What was usually at the opposite end of the great hall to the solar?
The kitchen
The garderobe
The gatehouse
What was a medieval buttry, or buttery?
A room storing drinks, especially ale
A kitchen
A supporting wall
A garderobe was a medieval privy. What was it also used for – from which it gets its name?
Storing food
Storing weapons
Storing clothes
In medieval times, what were banalities?
Fees paid by serfs for use of a lord's facilities
Gifts from a lord to his serfs
Scraps of food at a lord's feast
Where would the 14th-century coxcomb tile unearthed by Time Team at Hooke Court have been found in the manor house?
The floor
The wall
The roof
Answers here.
Buildings.
The Archaeology of Buildings by Richard K Morriss (Tempus, 2000) £15.99
A highly useful introduction to building materials and construction techniques. Find out about the techniques used in standing buildings recording and discover how to recognise different phases of construction in ancient buildings.
Get this book
English Manor Houses by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd and Christopher Simon Sykes (Laurence King Publishing, 2001) hardback £40
This coffee-table book focuses on the manor houses of England. These smaller scale houses, often of more ancient origin than the 'great houses', are scattered all over the country, ranging from simple Norman halls to picturesque Tudor manor houses and handsome buildings from the reign of the Stuarts. Whereas most of the great houses have now been sold by their original owners and are maintained as museums, many of the manor houses are still privately owned and lived in as homes.
Get this book
Life in the English Country House: A social and architectural history by Mark Girouard (Yale University Press, 1993, 2nd edition) paperback £18.95
Classic introductory book on the architecture, use, and evolution of English country houses from the medieval period to the Second World War. Although not an archaeological text it provides a good background on the way house plans, facades etc reflect the original purpose of the building and social standing and expectations of the builder.
Get this book
The English House by James Chambers (Thames Methuen, 1985) hardback £14.95
Tells the story of the English house in all its richness and diversity, from the earliest medieval dwellings to the 20th century.
Get this book
Geophysics.
Revealing the Buried Past: Geophysics for archaeologists by Chris Gaffney and John Gater (Tempus, 2003) paperback £17.99
Written by two of the foremost experts in the field, this book draws the reader into the world of geophysics. Aimed at the seasoned archaeologist, student, amateur and those who have seen the 'geofizz' techniques used and want to learn a little more, the book is well written, clearly presented and has lots of illustrations and explanatory diagrams. An introduction to the history of geophysics is followed by a lucid discussion of the different techniques available, the methods and equipment used, survey logistics and post-survey analysis. Drawing on their work with Time Team, Gaffney and Gater present a series of case studies from different periods. In conclusion, they consider the future for prospecting for the past and how this powerful surveying tool may be transformed in years to come. Foreword by Mick Aston.
Get this book
For other recommended books on archaeology, see our general Further reading section and for books by Time Team regulars see Books and DVDs.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Hooke Court
www.hookecourt.co.uk
Opened in 1994 by Peter and Mandy Cooper after extensive restoration work, Hooke Court is home to a small private school and nursery and a residential study centre. The Coopers also run activity and other holidays. Their website includes a short diary of Time Team's visit.
Sources for Building History
www.building-history.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
Would you like to find out more about the history of your house? Do you want to research an historic building in the United Kingdom or Ireland? Sources for Building History offers a guide to researching historic buildings in the British Isles, produced by building historian and Time Team Forum regular Jean Manco.
British Architecture
www.britainexpress.com/architecture/index.htm
This section of the Britain Express website covers styles of architecture and design in Britain from prehistoric times to the Victorian period, including architect biographies and information on 'great buildings'.
Looking at Buildings
www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk
An educational resource created by the Pevsner Architectural Guides with a wide range of materials covering various different kinds of buildings and periods. The website includes a basic introduction and plan of a typical medieval house similar to that at Hooke Court.
Clay pipes
www.dawnmist.demon.co.uk/pipdex.htm
In the Hooke Court programme, Time Team finds expert Paul Blinkhorn explained to the children from Hooke school how clay pipes are common finds on archaeological digs. He told them how ordinary labourers would often have a pipe clenched between their teeth as they worked and how some skeletons have a characteristic groove in their teeth resulting from the wear caused by many years of pipe use. This website includes pictures of almost 400 pipes dating from 1600 to the 20th century, as well as a short history. The website author is a collector, who offers a free identification service.
For links to other archaeological websites organised by period, see Archaeological websites.
In a medieval manor, what was the purpose of the 'solar', a room that gets its name from its large windows?
The lord of the manor's private quarters
What was usually at the opposite end of the great hall to the solar?
The kitchen
What was a medieval buttry, or buttery?
A room storing drinks, especially ale
A garderobe was a medieval privy. What was it also used for – from which it gets its name?
Storing clothes
In medieval times, what were banalities?
Fees paid by serfs for use of a lord's facilities
Where would the 14th-century coxcomb tile unearthed by Time Team at Hooke Court have been found in the manor house?
The roof