fcambridgeshirearchaeology Late Saxon to Post-medieval Manorial ...

Late Saxon remains have been found elsewhere in Kirton. Excavations
to the north-east of the town have uncovered the remains of a small
Anglo-Saxon settlement (PRN 13722), dating from the 9th to the 10th
century (Jacobs Babtie 2006).
An archaeological evaluation in 1996 directly to the north of Wash
Road opposite the present evaluation found 11th to 12th century
ditches, many undated features and the moat of Bozon Hall itself which
was backfilled in the 19th century (Palmer-Brown 1996b; Fig. 3, No. 4;
Table 1, No. 4). This moat was more than 5.4m wide and in excess of
2.70m deep (Palmer-Brown 1996b, 7). Features were found in three of
the four trenches with the number of features in these three trenches
varying from moderate to dense. The ground surface of this evaluation
was at 3.4m OD. The archaeological potential of the site was noted as
high (Palmer-Brown 1996b, 1).
The date for the founding of Bozon Hall is presently unknown and the
desk-top assessment only found one medieval reference it. A record of
1377 states that the hall belonged to Thomas de Branstaun (Pink 1990;
Palmer-Brown 1996a). Medieval activity is recorded adjacent to the
west of the site at King Street (Fig. 3, No. 1; Table 1).
The 1839 enclosure map recorded a building called Bozon Hall just
north of Wash Road, with Princess Road also drawn. Within the
subject site itself there were no structures, with the site divided into
three fields (Fig. 3, No. 11; Table 1). Bozon Hall was recorded on the
1st edition and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps (surveyed 1887;
revised 1903). To the north and north-east of the Hall parts of two
sides of an associated ditch were recorded on these maps as a moat.
Presently several post-medieval buildings front onto Wash Road and
Princess Road (Fig. 3, Nos. 4, 10 and 14) although it is uncertain when
these roads were built. In the 19th century a railway was built along
the site's western boundary (which became the A16). In 1977 Bozon
Hall, a fine post-medieval building or a range of buildings (presumably
built on top of the medieval manor), was demolished (Palmer-Brown
1996a).
The post-medieval Bozon Hall was a good quality building although the
photograph on the front cover of the 1996 desk-top assessment seems
to imply it was of a good yeoman size rather than a large manorial
building (Palmer-Brown 1996a). Attached structure(s) lay to the east
although the photograph is not of sufficient quality to establish whether
the main structure was brick- or stone-built. It clearly had a thatched
roof.
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ccc AFU Report No. 895