Erwarton Hall and Gatehouse stand to the north of the village of

Erwarton Erwarton or Arwarton is a small village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Shop Corner. Located on the Shotley peninsula around south of Ipswich, in 2005 it had a population of 110 ...

, on the

Shotley Peninsula The Shotley Peninsula is a rural area east of the A137 Ipswich-Colchester road located between the rivers River Stour, Suffolk, Stour and River Orwell, Orwell in Suffolk, England. The peninsula is named after the settlements of Shotley and Sh ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England. Although earlier structures stood on the site, the present hall was rebuilt in around 1575 by Sir Philip Parker. The gatehouse is earlier, dating to around 1549. The hall is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

while the gatehouse is separately listed at Grade I.

History

The village of

(alternatively Arwarton) is recorded in

Domesday Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. The

lordship of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English feudal (specifically baronial) system. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the ...

was held by the D'Avillars, descending to the Calthorpes. The last of this line, Sir Philip Calthorpe, married Amata Boleyn, becoming uncle-by-marriage of Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

. Anne visited Erwarton as a child and a long-held local tradition maintains that her heart is buried in the crypt of the Church of St Mary in the village. Calthorpe died c.1549 and the Erwarton Gatehouse may have been built to commemorate his memory. The church contains his tomb, situated in the south

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

. Peter Ashley, in his study ''Comings and goings: Gatehouses and Lodges'' published in association with

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, notes that while gatehouses have their origins in defensive architecture, they evolved from being "the first line of defence othe first line in a style offensive". The Erwarton Gatehouse belongs to the second type,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

suggesting that a strong central gate was never installed, and that the gatehouse has always stood in isolation without the encircling curtain walls that would have been necessary to make it effective as a bar to encroachment. In the

Tudor era In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

, from which the Erwarton Lodge dates, this trend accelerated, and

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

contains some important examples, such as the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

at Layer Marney in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and that at

Oxburgh Hall Oxburgh Hall is a moated country house in Oxborough, Norfolk, England. The hall was built for Sir Edmund Bedingfeld who obtained a licence to crenellate in 1482. The Bedingfelds gained the manor of Oxborough through marriage in the early 15t ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Timothy Mowl Timothy Mowl FSA (born 1951) is an architectural and landscape historian. He is Emeritus Professor of History of Architecture and Designed Landscapes at the University of Bristol, and Honorary Professor at the Royal Agricultural University, Ciren ...

, is his work on lodges, ''Trumpet at a Distant Gate'' writes that "the desire of an owner to impress a visitor outweighed his wish to repel an attacking force". The manor house was redeveloped by Sir Philip Parker, around 25 years after the construction of the gatehouse. The manor passed out of the ownership of the Parker family in the 18th century. For most of the 20th, the hall was leased by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

for use as the official home of the commander of the HMS Ganges naval training school, located at

Shotley Shotley is a village and civil parish south-east of Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk. It is in the Babergh District, Babergh district and gives its name to the Shotley peninsula between the Rivers River Stour, Suffolk, Stour and River ...

. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the gatehouse became a favoured subject for artists touring East Anglia. It was sketched by George Frost and Thomas Hearne and a drawing of it by

Francis Grose Francis Grose (before 11June 173112May 1791) was an England, English antiquary, drawing, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local ...

was used as an illustration on the Frog Service, a large dinner and dessert service created by

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...

for Catherine the Great of Russia. In 2024 an appeal to allow a housing development at Erwarton Farm, immediately adjacent to the hall, was turned down. Objections to the proposal had been lodged by the hall's current owners, and by

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

and the former Member of Parliament (MP) for

Suffolk Coastal Suffolk Coastal was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Melton, Suffolk, Melton, having moved from neighbouring Woodbridge, Suffolk, Woodbridge in 2017. Other towns include Fel ...

John Gummer John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, FRASE (born 26 November 1939) is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal and Lewisham West, now a member of the House of Lords. He was Chairman of th ...

Architecture and description

The "spectacular" gatehouse is of red

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

with a central tunnel supported by six

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es. These, and three

cardinal points The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The four ...

on the roof, are topped by elaborate

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s. The gatehouse is single-storeyed, with entrance gates set into each end. No architect is known, but the style is described by

as an "outstanding early example in England of

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

". The hall is of two storeys with attics, also in red brick and under a tiled roof. John Bettley, in his ''Suffolk: East'' volume in the Pevsner Buildings of England series, suggests that the hall was originally built to a typical

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

''H''-plan but that the east and west wings were removed subsequently. It is listed at

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

while the gatehouse is separately listed at Grade I.

Gallery

Erwarton Hall (geograph 2565103).jpg, Erwarton Hall Erwarton Hall through the Jacobean Gateway - geograph.org.uk - 4422665.jpg, The hall viewed through the gatehouse arch The gateway to Erwarton Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1282542.jpg, The gatehouse from the road

Footnotes

References

Sources

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External links

{{commonscat, Erwarton Hall Grade II* listed houses Grade I listed buildings in Suffolk Grade II* listed buildings in Suffolk Country houses in Suffolk Elizabethan architecture Babergh District