The manor of Oxnead was purchased by the Pastons when William Paston (1378-1444) bought it from Sir William Clopton of Long Melford, and settled it upon his wife, Agnes, as part of her marriage portion (1420).
It has been speculated that the Clopton house was on the low lying land in the area now known as the 'Water Garden' and that the two moats seen on the Tithe Map and first OS map may represent the courtyards of the original manor (Harboard 2014). However, it seems more likely that these ‘moats’ are the remains of the 16th century water gardens associated with the Hall, although it is possible that they derived from an earlier moat.
The is no direct archaeological evidence that survives above ground to support Medieval origins, although the present owners have come across the remains of 'structures' a little way beneath the current surface.
Roof timbers found in the yard at Oxnead dating from the middle decades of the fourteenth century may have come from the Clopton house or church, but also could have been brought to Oxnead in recent years by John Hedgecoe.
The Norfolk Heritage Environmental Record states that14th/15th century windows have been reused re-used in the garden folly.
The surviving Paston documentation makes clear that building or landscaping works were being undertaken when William Paston made application to divert the course of the road at Oxnead.
The route of the old road was recorded in detail as part of the application, along with the route of the new road which still exists today. It s possible to make a reasonable guess as to the route of the old road which in turn could support the idea that the Clopton manor house was located next to the church.
The text for the appliction which relates to the Oxnead old road is as follows:
and another highway in Oxenede 135 perches in length from the larger bridge of Oxenedo towards the east and north and 1 perch in width, extending in part under the site of his manor in Oxenede and on the western side thereof
The text which relates to the new road which was to replace the old road is as follows:
and another like road in Oxenede in a field of the town from the northern end of the said 135 perches to his close in the town towards the west and thence to the said bridge.
135 perches is 678 meters which really helps in defining the length of the road and the descriptions allows us an attempt to trace the route.
We know that the existing road start from the bridge, heads towards the east and north, extends in part under the manor house and then skirts western edge of the manor house. The new road starts from the end point of the old road, heads west and then back down to the bridge.
My attempt to plot the old and new road can be seen below.
One of the key points here is where the text states that the old road 'extended in part under the site of his manor'. I cannot think of any other circumstance in which this could be interpreted as the road running along the southern boundary of the manor house. The land slopes down towards the river and if the manor house was higher up the slope with the road 'under' it, then surely the road is between the river and the house?
If this is the case, then it's unlikely that the moated area has anything to do with Medieval Oxnead Hall as the road would be in the river!
The is an interesting boundary (in green, left) at Oxnead that does not seem to conform to any established alignment.
Today this boundary is a low wall, probably Paston in origin, although the bricks look later, and I wonder whether it respects the route of the old road up to the church.
The above route takes in this boundary as part of the route of the old road, however, the last part of the route description throws a spanner in the works if this was to be the case.
The final part states, 'and on the western side thereof', and is open to interpretation. The only way I can get this route to work is if the manor house is on the western side of the road. However, logically, it seems as though the text should mean 'and on the western side of the manor' as 'thereof' means of the thing just mentioned; i.e. the manor. If this is the case then the road starts at the bridge, goes east, then north, then back west and finally north again with the manor to the east!
Below is a Google Earth polyline measuring 678m following the description above.
This seems such as strange route as you would expect the old road to go directly to the church. This is the fun of trying to interpret old documents - I recommend having a go in Google Earth, remember, the route needs to be 678m!
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