Benhall Moat

Description

In 1225 Ralph de Sunderland's dwelling ( domos ) at Benhall was fortified, with ditches and stakes, by some partisans of Henry de Clavering who had 'maintained themselves there by force and arms contrary to the king's peace'. A knight and fourteen sergeants were arrested.

Moat, Manor Farm, inhabited, rectangular platform, present house overlaps W side, although that part of the house looks the oldest. Low lying location on meadows close to river. Manor Farm adjoins on W side outside entrance to moat. House demolished in 1970s, apparently as part of planning consent for conversion of Manor Farm Buildings. Large elements of the original Manor Farm buildings, as shown on OS 1880s map, just outside entrance to moat and also possibly Med in origin, have also now gone. (Suffolk HER for Benhall Moat)
Castle Hill Field is a low mound in marshy ground. About 1950 investigations by G Sieveking and Lord Medway revealed rammed chalk only (Ipswich Museum note). (Suffolk HER for Castle Hill - dated as Roman)

Concerning the fine of 100s. for Ralph of Sunderland. Order to the sheriff of Suffolk that notwithstanding the command that the king made to him for taking the land of Joan d'Auberville, wife of Ralph of Sunderland, in Benhall and Kelton, as is said, into the king's hand and keeping it safely until the king ordered otherwise, saving to Joan her reasonable maintenance from the same land, he is to cause Ralph to have full seisin of the aforesaid land without delay, so that the sheriff will go with him in person to the house of the same Joan and will see that all of the fortalice which Henry le Claver constructed against the king's peace, both in walls and in ditches and in other things, is removed, having accepted security from Ralph that he will not make waste, sale or exile of the men, buildings, woodlands, gardens or other things pertaining to the said land, and the same sheriff is to take security from him for 100s. to the king's use. (Fine Roll Henry III dated 30 August 1225)

Comments

This may have been the moat at manor farm, although there is a mound of uncertain date in 'Castle Field', made of rammed chalk at TM355624. Both sites are about a mile from the church (which has a fine Norman doorway) and it may be that the site was other than these but no other alternative is given in PastScape.
The moat is, by far, the more likely site for Ralph Sunderland's domos. However, the moat may represent a more modest later redigging of the earlier fortification, although it is not likely that Sunderland's fortification was of any great size or strength (The danger to the King's peace was 15 armed men not ditches and stakes)
Armitage uses this one example to state 'in the reign of Henry III it was evidently illegal even to fortify an ordinary house with a ditch and stockade without royal permission.' Given the hundreds, possibly thousands, of such houses that were built without any problem this is clearly untrue. The existing licences to crenellate, while mostly given to such gentry status moated houses, still amount to only about 5% of such houses. Given the generally good preservation of royal documentation it is inconceivable 95% of the 'permissions' to build such houses have been lost. The offence was not to build a defended house but to use such a house against the King's Peace.