Eresby Manor

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Eresby Hall

In the civil parish of Spilsby. In the historic county of Lincolnshire (Modern Authority of Lincolnshire, 1974 county of Lincolnshire).

The remains of a C13 manor house, licensed 1276, altered during C15, were found during excavations. This was replaced by a C16 hall with associated formal garden, ponds and bowling green, which survive as earthworks, and a tree avenue. The manor of Eresby was held by the Willoughby family, also of Grimsthorpe Castle in the south of Lincolnshire.
In 1086 the land at Eresby which was previously held by Aschil, was in the possession of the Bishop of Durham. During the 12th century the land passed though marriage to the de Bec family and in 1296 John de Bec was granted a licence to crenellate the manor of Eresby. The manor stayed in the de Bec's family until the early 14th century when it passed by marriage to the Willoughby family. In the early 16th century it again passed by marriage to Charles Brandon who built a new house on the site replacing the old manor house. In 1967 the moat was mechanically dredged and in 1968 an excavation of the area under the direction of Ethel Rudkin revealed part of the plan of the medieval manor house of the de Bec's and Willoughby's. The north bastion with buttresses and a length of curtain wall dating to the 13th century was revealed, together with some fragmentary remains of internal buildings which are difficult to interpret. The excavations recovered much evidence of refurbishment or rebuilding in the mid 15th century. Consisting of sandstone foundations for a brick building of which some well fired but undersized bricks were recovered. Large pieces of moulded stone were recovered from the moat and other debris from this area suggests that the kitchen once stood here and adjacent to it was the tiled floor of the great hall. Finds recovered include medieval green glazed pottery and a earthenware leg from an equestrian statue. The leg measures approximately 23cm in height and 9cm in width, the complete statue would have measured about 60cm and it has been conjectured that it may have been a statue of Lord Robert Willoughby. Part of a brick wall standing up to 1m in height is still visible above ground. (Lincolnshire HER)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 196179)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TF39466517

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 354061
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 43577 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p48
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p221
    Marjoram, J., 1984, A Prospect of Lincolnshire p79-88
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
    White, W., 1856, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire p788-89
• Journal Articles
  • Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' The Archaeological Journal Vol143 p319
    Everson, P and Hayes, T. (eds N Field and A White), 1984, A prospect of Lincolnshire, being collected articles on the history and traditions of Lincolnshire in honour of Ethel H Rudkin p39
    Rudkin, E.H., 1974, East Midland Archaeological Bulletin Vol10 p34
    Whitwell, J.B., 1973, East Midland Archaeological Bulletin Vol9 p29
    Wilson, C,M., 1971, Lincolnshire History and Archaeology Vol6 p11
    Foster, V.W., 1924, Lincolnshire Record Society Vol19 lxxxvi
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1272-81) p141
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1272-81) p158
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p303
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • English Heritage, 11/10/2001, Scheduling record: Eresby Hall: the remains of a post-medieval house and gardens overlying a medieval manor house. SAM 33133