St Aylotts (EHER 145)

An exceptional brick and timber house of 1500-1, lying within probable earlier moat.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 145 and 26829. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: St Aylott's, a two-storeyed house on a moated site, was erected in 1500-01 by Walden Abbey. The ground floor is of red brick, incorporating sonic diaper work dose to the main entrance, with a limited amount of stone dressings. The jettied first floor is timber-framed and pargeted, and the steep, double-pitched roof is tiled. 'Three brick stacks rise through the jetty and lie flush with the walls of the first storey. A fourth stack, inserted in the 20th century, rises to the ridge. There are staircase projections at the north end of the west side, and at the south end of the east side. Internally, the building comprises eight bays and was floored throughout. It appears to have represented a complete dwelling: originally the service rooms were located in the north end of the building, the hall was in the centre and the Solar to the south. The service rooms included an internal kitchen, an unusual feature for an early 16th century house of this status. A number of 16th century timber doorways with four-centred heads, carved spandrels and moulded jambs survive. The roof trusses have intersecting curved braces above the collars, and two tiers of wind-braces. An outbuilding connected to the east side of the house by a single-storey corridor may date from the 16th or 17th century and appears to replace an earlier wing. For the purposes of this report, north-west is considered as north. The bays are numbered 1 to 8, from south to north. <1> Manor house surrounded by almost square moat and two fishponds. The house has two storeys, the lower storey is of brick whilst the upper storey is timber- framed and plastered. The house was built about1500 on a rectangular plan, with the Great Hall in the middle, the Solar on the south and the kitchen on the north. The moat has traces of a brick revetment on the north side. <2> <3> The site was once the property of Walden Abbey and formed part of the manor of St Aylott's. The name is derived from St Aylott who is said to have been martyred here. A chapel dedicated to him existed here in the 15th century. <4> <5> Site Assessment = The moat was in a good state of preservation when inspected in November 1975 by the Moated Sites Research Group. The east, west and south sides had been kept clear by dredging. The moat was 9-12m wide with a depth of 1.25m to water. Area = 0.25 <6> The name St. Aylott's appears as St. Ailet in 1248. <7> Rectangular house of 1500 with brick ground floor and timber framed upper floor. Inside, the Great Hall can still be recognised. <8> Listed Grade 1. <9> 1969. Field survey. Homestead moat, water-filled and in good condition. Some metres to the south-west, at TL 56903985, is a waterfilled rectangular fishpond. 'St Aylott's' is in good condition, being a good example of its type showing several late 15th/early 16thc features externally including several stone window surrounds and a Tudor doorway. Published 1:2500 correct. See GP. <10> 1989. Field survey. The house is as described by auth 1-5. It should be noted in addition that there is diaper patterned brickwork on the rear ground floor. The moat is water filled but has been subject to some infilling. The rear entrance to the farmhouse has been widened. The former line of the moat may be traced as a low scarp. The irregular south corner of the moat has also been filled. No function should be ascribed to the subrectangular pond at TL 5691 3997. <11> 1998. Building survey. The wall footing of a Tudor outbuilding at the moated enclosure of St Aylott's, Saffron Walden was recorded prior to the building of a new wall in the same position. <12> 2011. Watching brief. Groundwork for the construction of a menage to the east of St Aylott's was monitored for the possible uncovering of archaeological remains. The only archaeological remains were late post-medieval/modern tiles, bricks and horseshoes and animal bone. <13> See also: <14> - <24>