The Gatehouse website record for Cockfield tower

In the civil parish of Cockfield. In the historic county of Suffolk (Modern Authority of Suffolk, 1974 county of Suffolk).

Building mentioned once about the time of Henry II, with an enormous wooden tower may well have been a castle. (King) Old Cockfield Hall, which stood by the green is the most likely site, although there are also moats at TL913549 and TL917549.
The manor of Cockfield Hall dates from 967 when it was held by Earl Alfan and his daughter Athelfled. They gave it to the Abbot of Bury in 1086 who granted it to the Prior of Bury in 1275. At the dissolution it was given to the Spring family, in 1545, by the Crown. (PastScape–ref. Churchill Babington)
There were two medieval manors in Cockfield. Cockfield Hall and Earl's Hall. Earl's Hall was held by the De Vere Earls of Oxford, but seems unlikely as a residential manor for them. The Cockfield Hall, held by Bury Abbey, was tenanted by the the Cockfield family (Churchill Babington, 1880) of knightly status and was clearly a major residence for a family that held several other estates in East Anglia and Yorkshire. They may well have dressed their home up with martial symbols to reflect their status.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL90415430

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 385078
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is COK 025 '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.

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