Randall Manor: Community Archaeology Works!
By Roger Cockett, Andrew Mayfield and Richard Taylor
This article describes the results of a nine year programme of community archaeology excavation funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and supported by Kent County Council. Work has focused on the site of Randall Manor, home to the de Cobham family for two hundred years. The manor now sits within Shorne Woods Country Park, east of Gravesend.
The authors present a detailed historical study of Randall Manor and the de Cobham family (see Appendix), alongside the findings of the archaeological excavations.
Archaeological background
The manor’s existence remained in the local consciousness despite the buildings being demolished in the late 1500s. We know that members of the Darnley family (of nearby Cobham Hall) investigated the site in the early twentieth century, although no records survive. In the 1960s, George Dockrell, a school teacher from Gravesend, conducted excavations at the manor with the help of his pupils, reigniting local interest in the site. Fortunately, George ensured the details of his work were sent to the National Monuments Record, flagging up the site for future archaeologists.
Excavations were possible at this time as the chestnut woodland which now surrounds the manor had been coppiced. Although George hoped to excavate the site further, his work was generally limited to one building, which turned out to be the kitchen. He and his pupils uncovered a ragstone hearth at the centre of the kitchen and an earlier tiled hearth which it replaced. He documented the site through photographs and in his notebooks, which we now have. A small assemblage of finds was deposited at Maidstone Museum. Meanwhile, the woods encroached back on the site.
Forty years later, archaeologists returned to
Shorne Woods Country Park. In 2005 a Heritage Lottery Fund grant created a community archaeologist post for the Park. Lyn Palmer, the first incumbent, ably assisted by an enthusiastic and growing Shorne Woods Archaeology volunteer group, revived interest in the Park’s heritage and the manor’s archaeology. In the summer of 2006 the artificially levelled rectangular platform on which the manor house sits was cleared of trees. Excavation work initially focused on finding and re-excavating George Dockrell’s trenches. These provided a series of keyhole views into the site and its stratigraphy. From 2009 the excavations have been directed by Andrew Mayfield, the present Park community archaeologist. In 2014, the ninth season on site, Richard Taylor co-directed excavations.
Early development of the manor site
The earliest recorded reference to Randall or Rundale (as it is referred to in the medieval documents) is the confirmation in c.1108 by Bishop Gundulph of a gift of tithes by one Smaleman de Schornes to Rochester Priory for the monks’ sustenance. Rundale does not appear in any other known document until c.1234 when, following the death of Henry de Cobham (d.1233), his lands were divided between his sons. Part of the deed mentions ‘all the land and marsh which is called Rundale in the township of Schornes’. By 1251, following John de Cobham’s death, Joan, wife of John, and Reginald de Cobham [his brother] guardians of the lands and heirs of John, agree that ‘Joan yields to the said Reginald, the lands which she held as a marriage portion from John in the township of Schorne, which belonged to the manor of Rundale’. This is the first mention of Rundale as a ‘manor’. A LiDAR survey of the Park has identified the putative estate boundaries of the central portion of this manor. These boundaries surround a central building platform and a series of fish ponds that have yet to be explored (see fig 2).
Archaeological excavations on the site have revealed a series of ditches cut into the land surface providing drainage from the platform’s high point. The fill of these ditches contained pottery dated to 1150-1250, sealed by a substantial clay levelling layer containing pottery dated to 1175-1225 and a Richard I (1189-99) silver penny. The foundations for a north-south aligned timber aisled hall are cut into this layer. Given the degree of earth moving involved, it seems unlikely that such an undertaking would have been made without the hall being constructed shortly afterwards. The inference here is that the aisled hall was constructed from c.1230 by either Henry de Cobham (d.1233) or John de Cobham (d.1251) to develop Rundale as part of their land holdings to endow their respective heirs by gavelkind. We are now confident that buildings existed on the site prior to Henry de Cobham (d.1233) coming of age in c.1253. Henry however was the first de Cobham referred to as of Rundale.
Period of high status
The aisled hall is the first known building on the site. Aligned north-south, the substantial tiled roof of the structure was supported by 4 large timber posts (evidenced by four post pads) and low flint side-walls. Huge tile falls were recorded on both the west and east sides of the building. Internally the structure had a central hearth, laid on a thin clay floor.
Over the next 50 years, Henry de Cobham (d.1316) used Randall as his principal residence until Joan, his second wife, inherited Allington Manor in 1309. During the course of his life, Henry proved of use to both King Edward I and Edward II and the subsequent development of Randall mirrored his progress. On his inheritance, Henry set about a series of building enlargements and improvements. First of these was the construction of the east-west cross wing. This two storey stone building (with an east-west running roof) was completed by c.1275 and in use well into the 1400s as a service range. The cross wing may have been built in two phases as indicated by the change in construction techniques in both east and west walls. The north wall of the cross wing is built into levelling material containing pottery with spot dates of 1250-1300. Internally, the pebble floor surface of the cross-wing contained pottery with a spot-date of 1275-1325 and a Henry III (1216-72) coin. This pebble floor is, in turn covered by a clay floor with a pottery spot-date of 1350-1400. A substantial stone octagonal chimney is also added to the
south end of the aisled hall.
The next major building phase included a northern extension to the stone cross wing. A two storey building, with stone walls below and timber above, this is also built into the levelling layer into which the cross-wing is built. A pottery spot date of 1250-1300 was given to the pebble surface in this new building. Given this structure was built onto the foundations of the cross wing, the construction date must be post c.1275. In addition, the medieval builders clearly struggled with the stability of this building as evidenced by two buttresses at the northern end of the structure. Problems certainly persisted as a third buttress was added to the north wall. At this point we have evidence for a possible collapse which affected both the north and east walls. Within a short period of time the northern wall was moved south, shortening the length of the structure and the east wall was rebuilt on a skewed alignment to the original wall. The old north end of the building was then used as a midden area. This layer was spot dated to 1325-1375. Around this time, or shortly after, a garderobe structure was added to the building with a sloping flint floor. Pottery from this structure has produced a spot date of 1375-1425, which is one of the latest pottery dates on-site. Given the dating evidence for the remodelling of the northern extension, it seems certain that this took place after Stephen de Cobham of Rundale (d.1332) inherited the site in 1316 (see fig.4).
A detached kitchen block sits to the north east of this main wing. The multi phase evidence from the kitchen structure shows this building was altered many times during the life of the manor. A trend among medieval kitchens, particularly those associated with small to medium sized manor houses, was that external structures tended to be fairly rudimentary lean-to structures with roofs supported by a series of posts. The earliest arrangement of the kitchen was of this type, with a wall running east-west (see fig.5). This wall cuts into the same levelling material as that underpinning the cross-wing service range which contained pottery with spot dates of AD1250-1300.
The first kitchen housed a series of structures and ovens cut into the surrounding levelling material, including a boiling oven, an additional covered oven and a series of tiled hearths. During the ownership of Stephen de Cobham (d.1332) the kitchen was completely remodeled and rebuilt as a square stone building, with the addition of a porch on the southern side. Although it cannot be proved, it is possible that the collapse of the northern wing damaged the early kitchen, hence the rebuilding. The later occupation of the kitchen corresponds with the building of a ragstone hearth, replacing the earlier tiled hearths. The stone hearth is built upon a rubble layer that is built over successive floor layers. A pottery spot date from a later floor associated with the ragstone hearth came back as 1300-1400 (see fig.6).
Stephen de Cobham (d.1332) represented the zenith of the de Cobham of Rundale family and the Rundale manor complex; he was knighted with Edward Prince of Wales in 1306 and enobled in 1326, henceforth known as Baron Stephen de Cobham. It’s presumed that Stephen inhabited Rundale until the death of his mother in 1324 when he inherited Allington Manor. However, he witnessed the signing of a deed at Rundale in 1330 and was granted a license for a chapel on site in 1329. The location of the chapel has yet to be identified, though a structure attached to the east of the aisled hall and discovered this year is a viable candidate.
Detached from the principle structures outlined above are two further buildings which we presume date from the periods of Henry (d.1316) and Stephen (d.1332). The first of these is a multi-phased structure that may have started life as a revetment of the north east corner of the site but was later developed into a substantial brew house. This consisted of a circular structure with a large flue on its western side and a flat tiled surface which would have acted as a copper base. To the north of this structure is a malting oven enclosed by a further revetting wall which runs into the fish ponds.
In the south east corner of the platform is a large rectangular building with low flint walls, presumably built mainly of timber. Although its function is currently unknown, this structure contains a substantial tiled hearth built into its west wall. This building was first discovered in 2008, although its full dimensions have yet to be revealed as of 2014. From the evidence visible at its excavated west end, it could be larger than the aisled hall.
An Inquisition Post Mortem (IPM) from 1333 detailed Stephen de Cobham’s estate. This confirmed that Stephen possessed a capital messuage at Rundale and also a windmill in another portion of his estate. It is possible that this windmill site has now been located on Randall Heath within the modern boundary of Shorne Woods Country Park.
Gradual decline and later history
Upon Stephen’s death in 1332 he was succeeded by his son John de Cobham (d.1362). However, he did not inherit Rundale and Allington manors until he came of age in 1341 and was knighted in 1342.
There is evidence that John signed a deed at Rundale in 1362 which shows the manor survived the ravages of the Black Death. Around this time the north and east sides of the platform are enclosed by a clay bank, spot dated to c.1350. Over the following 60 years, three generations of Cobhams of Rundale held the manor until 1424. An IPM of 1405 mentioned that no furniture was present at Rundale, although a capital messuage was mentioned in 1415. A period of tenancy followed with two final references to the manor buildings. In 1555 a source located the buildings within the wider landscape, and in 1559 George Brooke’s IPM refers to a house ‘recently occupied’, confirmed by the latest pottery spot dates of AD1500-1550. Shortly after this, we believe the manor was comprehensively demolished presumably as a source of stone for the rebuilding of Cobham Hall in the 1580s. Trees were planted in ‘Randall’ Wood for coppicing at about this time, according to a letter of 1601. The last contemporary reference in 1631 refers to the manor site being ruinous. It remained lost in the woods until the arrival of the Darnleys and George Dockrell.
The future
What can the archaeology tell us about the buildings and their owners? The buildings would have contained carved stonework, evidence for this includes a balestop - a carved stone head that would have decorated the archway of one of the principal doors. Window lead and window glass point to the high status nature of at least some of the buildings. There are also two complete decorated Mamluke glass vessel, most likely imported from the Middle East. A large enigmatic lead flask was found underneath the floor of the cross-wing. It had been carefully buried but its function remains unclear and its origins require further research.
Thanks to a recent generous grant from the KAS, further research will be completed on the wide-ranging finds assemblage from the site. This will also enable a series of training opportunities for KAS members and further community engagement. This will contribute significantly to the production of the final site report, due for release in 2015.
The project has seen nine years of unprecedented community engagement. Hundreds of people have taken part in the excavations, thousands have toured the site, and local schools have been involved every year alongside the Young Archaeologist Clubs of the country.
None of this would have been possible without the support and co-operation of the Kent County Council Country Parks’ staff and most importantly the continued commitment and hard work of the Shorne Woods Archaeology Project volunteer group, to whom this article is dedicated.
Huge thanks are also given to Nigel Macpherson Grant for the pottery analysis and to Ken Walton and Dean Barkley for the aerial photography.
For further information on the site and to hear about future training opportunities, please contact Andrew Mayfield andrew.mayfield@kent.gov.uk @ArchaeologyKent on twitter
APPENDIX: the de Cobhams
Sir Henry de Cobham (d.1233)
Sir John de Cobham (d.1251)
Sir Henry ‘Le Uncle’ de Cobham of Rundale (d.1316)
Baron Stephen de Cobham (d.1332)
Sir John de Cobham (d.1362)
Sir Thomas de Cobham (d.1394)
Sir Reginald de Cobham (d.1405)
Sir Thomas de Cobham, last de Rundale (d.1424)