Monument record 0031702000 - BOARSTALL

BOARSTALL HOUSE WAS FORTIFIED AS A ROYALIST GARRISON DURING THE CIVIL WAR (B8,B15).
HOUSE, GATEHOUSE, FORMAL GARDENS & ANCILLARY BUILDINGS ARE SHOWN IN A PRINT OF C.1695 (B2).
THE HOUSE WAS DEMOLISHED IN LATE C18 (B16).
The tower and moat were constructed shortly after 1312 by John De Handlo. Inside the moat once stood the dwelling house and the noted 17th century formal garden which featured box hedges, gravel paths and parterre. After 1777 the garden was abandoned and gradually reverted to grazing land. A new garden was created in 1925 by Antonio Pinzani, but today the interior is grassed with various earthworks clearly visible. A watching brief carried out in August 1999 during the installation of a new sub-station and electrical cabling to the north east of the tower, discovered buried foundations, cut features, a mortar spread and substantial amounts of medieval pottery (B20).
Geophysical survey carried out by the National Trust in June 2001 identified a large number of anomalies, interpreted as details of the buildings and gardens shown in the 1695 Burghers' engraving. It is suggested that the building footings and possibly some floor and yard surfaces may survive in-situ (B28).
Trial trenching carried out in July 2008 to test the results of the 2001 geophysical survey located structural evidence for the house in three trenches, including a complex of brick ovens and hearths (trench 4), part of a service wing at the rear of the house (trench 4); a probable front porch and yard surfaces (trench 1); and the north wall or possibly a bay window and yard surface (trench 3). The remaing 2 trenches provided evidence for demolition deposits (trench 5) and for extensive robbing of the house foundations (trench 2). Pottery and other finds suggest that the site was occupied soon after the Norman Conquest until the 14th century, after which there was a marked decline in pottery deposition until the 16th century. In the post-medieval period activity seems to have peaked by the 17th century, after which there was a sharp decline until the early 18th century, followed by a steady decline from around the middle of the 18th century. See report for detail (B32).