THE MANOR HOUSE. MARTIN
Grid Ref. SU 068197
The investigation of the Manor House at Martin near Fordingbridge, undertaken by staff and pupils of Bishop Wordworth’s School, Salisbury has been completed. The intention was to form some notion of the Manor House during its heyday under John Horsey Esquire, Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1529. The plan shows that the existing house stands on the southern side of a rectangle whose other sides are the road and the banks designated A and B on the plan. Footings recently unearthed in the garden and the evidence of levels at the east end of the present house suggest that the original building extended some 20 metres in a north-easterly direction to occupy the entire southern side of the rectangle. The footings show that a range of buildings, wider than those surviving, stood on the site. These may well have included a hall and the small chapel noted by John Aubrey in his ‘Natural History of Wiltshire’.
The earthworks were investigated by excavation and earth resistivity techniques. A small trench cut into Bank A near its junction with Bank B showed the outer side of the bank to be composed of a flint wall 1.54 metres wide. The excavation of a clay-pipe stem loclly made 1690-1710, from the wall’s upper layer of brick and tile debris helps date its demolition. At the summit of the bank the section showed that the wall ended in a clearly-defined vertical face, giving way an earth and gravel fill. A layer of mixed tile and mortar immediately underlay the turf at the summit Initially it was felt that the banks contained foundations of a structure similar to the existing house. Two factors cast doubt on this theory. Firstly the width of the bank seemed too narrow when compared with the width of the existing house. Secondly, resistivity runs across Bank A showed dense material at its outer edge (identified as a wall by excavation) but failed to show similar material on its inner side. Consequently it seems probable that Banks A and B are the remains of a walled enclosure having a raised path about 4 metres wide around its inner side. It is likely that this path led via a bridge across the stream (now culverted beneath the road) to stables opposite. In support of this idea it is noteworthy that the levels at the western end of Bank A and on the stable floor are almost identical, whilst the bank itself ends abruptly at the road. inspection of the boundary wall here suggests that it was extended following demolition of the bridge. The overall picture therefore is of a manor house with a walled enclosure on its northern side. Possibly the original house was similar to Lyte’s Carey, near Ilchester, Somerset, extensively rebuilt by John Lyte and his wife. Edith, John Horsey’s daughter.
Grateful thanks are due to the owners of the house for their kindness and co-operation. Salisbury and South Wilts. Museum holds a full account of the work.
P. J. Webb
An edited version of the article which originally appeared in: Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Newsletter, no. 4 (September 1976)
