The Gatehouse website record for Harpham Manor and Church of St John of Beverley

In the civil parish of Harpham. In the historic county of Yorkshire East Riding (Modern Authority of East Riding of Yorkshire, 1974 county of Humberside).

The buried and earthwork remains of the medieval manor house of the St Quintin family together with an area of medieval settlement remains. The monument lies at the heart of Harpham village adjacent and to the west of St John's Church. Before the Norman Conquest the village was in the hands of three landowners. The principal landholding was the manor of Burton Agnes which was held by Earl Morcar but which then passed to William the Conqueror after Morcar rebelled in 1071. In 1199 Harpham was separated from Burton Agnes and passed from the Stutvilles to the St Quintin family via marriage. Harpham then became the principal seat of a branch of the family until they moved to Scampston Hall some time in C17. Adjacent to the parish church, is a large enclosure which is partly defined by a moat and a broad bank. This enclosure contained the medieval hall of the St Quintin's. To the north of the church there is a series of crofts and tofts with at least one levelled building platform. At the west end of the field to the west, north of Hall Garth Farm, there is a series of four of five smaller crofts, narrower and shorter than those north of the church. To the east of these stands a large depression over 25m across and 1.5m deep which is interpreted as the silted remains of a village pond. In the north western quarter of the manorial enclosure there are at least four building platforms. These are considered to be the locations of farm buildings attached to the manor house. Just to the east of this area the general ground level is higher. This is considered to be the location of the manorial hall and the core service buildings. To the north of this there is a broad level area 50m east-west and 20m wide. To the south of the churchyard there is a series of broad terraced areas which are interpreted as gardens attached to the manor house. The moat that surrounded the site included the church. A licence to crenellate the belfry of the chapel of Harpham was obtained in 1374 but although this presumable resulted in the west tower this is not a defensive structure.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TA09236158

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 79621; 79631
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular '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, or elsewhere.

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.