Tempsford's Medieval Manor
Archaeologists excavating an area in Tempsford Park have found evidence of a splendid medieval manor house that may have once looked something like this.
The excavations were carried out because of an extension to the A1 trunk road in the north of the county. The work was undertaken by Northamptonshire Archaeology and the project was managed by the Bedfordshire County Archaeological Officer.
The manor house was built in the 13th Century (about 800 years ago) on an island that was surrounded by a water filled ditch or moat. The house has long since disappeared but the island and moat partly survive as earthworks.
The moat at Tempsford prior to excavation
Postholes and beam slots proved that the manor house had been built with a timber frame. Panels made of wattle and daub would have been used to fill in the frame to make the walls. The manor house had a central hall, with a hearth (see below) in the middle. At one end of the house there was a servant’s wing with its own entrance and at the other end there was a parlour where the owners lived.
The remains of the medieval manor house hearth found during the excavations
The floor of the house didn’t survive but it was probably beaten earth or clay covered by rushes. Outside there were a series of paths and one of the doorways to the servant’s area had a cobbled entrance. The archaeologists found lots of different types and colours of roof tiles, all of which dated to the same period in time this probably means that the each separate part of the house was roofed in different ways. About 700 years ago the house was refurbished, an extension was added to the servant’s wing, new doorways were put in and new paths were laid.
Plan showing the medieval manor house as revealed by the excavations
The people at Tempsford would have been wealthy. Animal bones and burnt plant remains show that the household ate bread; oats, peas, broad beans and meat such as beef, mutton and pork. They also ate plums and cherries which would have been a luxury. The family kept horses and dogs, the dogs also seem to have been well fed as lots of the animal bones showed signs of gnawing.
Amongst the finds made by the archaeologists were items of dress such as buckles and pins and a knife with a decorated bone handle (see picture). There were also two gaming pieces, one of which was probably unfinished. The other (see picture below) was carved from a single piece of animal bone and is decorated with rings and dots. The groove in the top means it is a rook from a chess set.
Medieval bone handled knife found during the excavations at Tempsford 
Medieval chess piece found during the excavations at Tempsford
Tempsford manor house was abandoned between the end of 15th Century and the beginning of the 16th Century (around 600 years ago). The house was totally dismantled, we are not sure why, perhaps the family fell on hard times. By the end of the 18th Century the remains of the island and the moat became part of the parkland attached to Tempsford Hall. At this time part of the moat was enlarged to form a pond for the new park.
The medieval moated manor house was not the first structure built at Tempsford. In fact the both the manor house and moat and had built been on top of an earlier aisled hall, this had separate kitchen with an oven and a workshop range. Before that, in the Late Saxon period (1100 years ago), there were a series small fields or paddocks surrounded by ditches belonging to a nearby settlement. The site of this settlement has not yet been found. The Saxon finds included pottery, two pennies, two locks and textile working tools.
Saxon penny found during the excavations at Tempsford
Near complete Saxon pot found during the excavations at Tempsford
If you want to find out more about TempsfordPark and Bedfordshire’s archaeology there are a number of ways that you can do it:
The results of the archaeological excavations at Tempsford Park have been published as a Bedfordshire Archaeology Monograph (see details below) copies can be obtained from the Bedfordshire Archaeological Council by telephoning 01234 294010.
‘A Medieval Moated Enclosure in TempsfordPark’ by Anthony Maull and Andy Chapman. Bedfordshire Archaeology Monograph No. 5 2005. ISBN 0-9531531-2-6
The Bedfordshire HER (Historic Environment Record) holds details of Tempsford Park, including copies of the published material and lots more besides. To find out more contact the HER team on 01234 228072/88 or email bedfordshireher@bedscc.gov.uk|. All the finds from Tempsford Park have been deposited at Bedford Museum| (new window). To find out more about the Museum telephone (01234) 353323.