Remains of medieval parish church, Little Holland deserted settlement (EHER 2876)

The parish church of Little Holland stood approximately 200 metres from the cliff. The remains of the medieval parish church and cemetery lying within the grounds of Little Holland Hall, approximately 130 metres inland at Holland-on-Sea. It is thought that the church may date back to the 11th century and was demolished circa 1660. Evidence from the excavation of the cemetery site has indicated that some of the burials may pre-date the church.

The parish church of Little Holland stood approximately 200 metres from the cliff. <1> The site of the former parish church lies in the grounds of the hall, in the south-east corner close to the B1032. It was partly excavated in the early 1970s. The excavations were not backfilled and became overgrown. The work was not published. Some of the excavated human remains wre stored in a barn at Little Holland Hall. Little is known about the church. "Until the Dissolution it was a curacy of St Osyth's Priory. The church still stood in 1650 but "the Parochial Inquisition recommended that the parish should be annexed to Great Clacton". A detailed visitation was made in 1683, finding that the church had been demolished in around 1659. An order was made in 1696 to remove three bells from the church (these were probably mentioned in a visitation of 1552). The bells were in the hands of a local farmer. It was mentioned that the "chapell has been for at least these forty years demolished and the place almost eaten up by the seas". In Elizabethan times the sea had been about a mile from the church but the parish's population shrank due to encroachment by the sea (see EHER 2874 for details of the deserted settlement). In around 1800 the church ruins were visible south of the "mansion". Around 1920 "the church stood about 200 yards from the cliff". A fragment of brick and rubble walling with diagonal buttresses remained from the east wall. In September 1972 a small part of the east wall still stood. The east end of the church had been trenched and not backfilled. A fence had been made across the south-east corner of the church and flint and mortar was visible south-east of the fence <2>-<7> The site was damaged by poor excavation around 1972 when trenches were dug around the church foundations. Burials were found, some were in store at Little Holland Hall. A letter was sent from the County Planner and the DOE to the excavator in 1974 <8> <9> Sketch location map of church site in SMR, with plan of church sketched in from Tithe map of 1838 <10> <11> Copy of Tithe map in SMR, shows the rough outline of the church. <11> The church had a steeple visitation in 1639 and the church then needed repair, though not more so than many others at the time. <13> The church was demolished around 1660. Trial excavations took place in 1960, revealing a simple, rectangular building measuring approximately 65 feet by 22 feet, suggested as Norman in date with later diagonal corner buttresses. "The site has subsequently been dug over unsystematically in the name of 'excavation', and not backfilled. The discovery of skeletons east of the church shows that it once possessed a substantial graveyard". The whole area is now so disturbed that it may be regarded as archaeologically destroyed. Graded IIIc by Rodwell <14> Site Assessment: ECC requested that site be considered for scheduling as Essex Monument 163. Department of the Environment decided not to schedule although "they acknowledge the arguments made regarding the potential of the hall grounds for development. Should a planning application be submitted this site 'could possibly be designated under the new act in order to ensure excavation, financial support being encouraged from the developer'". Comment was made "on the difficulty of assessing the importance of this particular site in the absence of a proper study of other similar sites in Essex" . Until recently the hall had been in an isolated position. It is now delimited by the B1032 to south and east and by housing estates to north and west. Much ground remains within the hall. Most of the information in a guidebook is unsourced. <16> Information from the NRHE Church (NR) (rems of) (NAT) <17> The parish church of Little Holland (dedication unknown) stood about 200 yds from the cliff. All that remains is a fragment of brick and rubble walling representing the east wall, with diagonal buttresses at the angles. <6> 1951. Field survey. The remains are now covered in dense undergrowth, and agree with the description in <6>. Height of walling and buttresses at the south angle approximately 0.5 metres and at the north angle 1.6 metres. No information obtained as to its date of construction, dedication or destruction. <18> Additional reference with further historical information. This source notes that human remains had been unearthed here in 1935 and again in 1967. <19> In 1987 prior to the erection of sheltered housing, a ground plan of the church was made. The church foundations were interpreted as representing four archaeological periods from the 11th-12th to the 15th to mid 17th centuries. Documentary evidence suggests that the church was probably demolished between c1656-59. <20> The remains of the medieval parish church and cemetery lying within the grounds of Little Holland Hall approximately 130 metres inland at Holland-on-Sea. The church and cemetery form part of a manorial complex which was isolated from other settlement until recently. It is thought that the church may date back to the early 11th century. The local population declined during the medieval period, apparently as a result of abandonment due to encroachment by the sea. The church had been demolished by 1660. The church is visible as a raised earthwork, with an outline measuring 22 metres by 10 metres. The standing remains of the east wall survive to a height of 1.2 metres. Excavation of the site of the cemetery revealed several burials with an alignment different to that of the church. It is believed that these burials may belong to an earlier, Anglo-Saxon period. Scheduled. <21> The monument includes the remains of the medieval parish church and cemetery, which lies within the grounds of Little Holland Hall some 130m inland from the coastline at Holland-on-Sea, two miles north east of Clacton. The church and cemetery form part of a manorial complex which, until recently, was isolated from other settlement. Other surviving components of the manor include the hall itself and two large ponds; these are not included in the scheduling. Documentary evidence shows that the name Holande dates back to the beginning of the 11th century, and there may have been a church dating from that time. The Domesday Book records that the population was already in decline from 16 households at the time of the Conquest to 11 households by 1086. Little Holland Church was a curacy of St Osyth's Priory until its dissolution in 1539. Documents record that the value of the manor was depreciating because of inundation by the sea. Although still standing in 1650, the Parochial Inquisition recommended that the parish should be annexed to Great Clacton, and the church had been demolished by 1660. By 1650 rapid encroachment by the sea had made the parish almost uninhabitable due to frequent flooding and only eight families were present by 1650. The outline of the church is visible as a raised earthwork following the buried remains of the walls, except for the east wall which survives above ground. The east wall of uncoursed brick and rubble survives to a maximum height of 1.2m. The external outline of the church as shown by the buried and above ground walling measures some 22m long by 10m wide. Excavations have indicated that the origins of the cemetery may predate the existing medieval church. Several burials on a different alignment to the church (both within the structure and to its east) were recorded during excavation and did not appear to be contemporary with it. These burials may belong to an earlier Anglo-Saxon period: there is a long standing local belief that the cemetery marks the site of a tenth century skirmish between the Saxons and a band of Viking raiders. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE A parish church is a building, usually of roughly rectangular outline and containing a range of furnishings and fittings appropriate to its use for Christian worship by a secular community, whose members gather in it on Sundays and on the occasion of religious festivals. Children are initiated into the Christian religion at the church's font and the dead are buried in its churchyard. Parish churches were designed for congregational worship and are generally divided into two main parts: the nave, which provides accommodation for the laity, and the chancel, which is the main domain of the priest and contains the principal altar. Either or both parts are sometimes provided with aisles, giving additional accommodation or spaces for additional altars. Most parish churches also possess towers, generally at the west end, but central towers at the crossing of nave and chancel are not uncommon and some churches have a free-standing or irregularly sited tower. Many parish churches also possess transepts at the crossing of chancel and nave, and south or north porches are also common. The main periods of parish church foundation were in the 10th to 11th and 19th centuries. Most medieval churches were rebuilt and modified on a number of occasions and hence the visible fabric of the church will be of several different dates, with in some cases little fabric of the first church being still easily visible. Parish churches are found throughout England. Their distribution reflects the density of population at the time they were founded. In regions of dispersed settlement parishes were often large and churches less numerous. The densest clusters of parish churches were found in thriving medieval towns. A survey of 1625 reported the existence of nearly 9000 parish churches in England. New churches built in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries increased numbers to around 18,000 of which 17,000 remain in ecclesiastical use. Parish churches have always been major features of the landscape and a major focus of life for their parishioners. They provide important insights into medieval and later population levels or economic cycles, religious activity, artistic endeavour and technical achievement. A significant number of surviving examples are identified to be nationally important. The surviving fabric of the medieval church at Little Holland Hall, and the archaeological levels preserved within the church and its surrounding cemetery, will contain important information illustrating the church's history and use. The small scale excavations that have already taken place have shown that the history of the site is complex and that its origins may lie within the Anglo-Saxon period. The cemetery may prove to be one of only a handful of churchyards with pre-Conquest origins. With its simple two-celled design, the church itself may prove to be very early, parts of its fabric perhaps dating from the original late Saxon manor. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 16th February 2001