Southchurch Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Southchurch Hall |
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Southchurch Hall
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| General information | |
| Status | Preserved |
| Type | Historic House |
| Architectural style | Half timbered |
| Location | Southchurch |
| Town or city | Southend-on-Sea |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°32′13″N 0°43′46″E / 51.536967°N 0.729493°E |
| Construction started | c.1321-1364 |
Southchurch Hall is a very old and special house in Southchurch, part of Southend-on-Sea, England. It's a "moated house," meaning it has a ditch filled with water around it, like a mini-castle! This historic building is protected as a Grade I listed building, which means it's super important and needs to be preserved. For many years, until the 1920s, families who worked on farms lived here. Later, in 1930, the Dowsett Family helped restore it and gave it to the town of Southend. It's even considered one of the top 1,000 houses in England! The moat around the house is also a protected historic site.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
Building the Hall
The main part of Southchurch Hall was built a very long time ago, between 1321 and 1364. Over the years, parts were added, including a section during the Tudor period and another in the 1930s. The biggest room, called the Great Hall, still looks much like it did in the 1300s.
Back then, the Great Hall had a fireplace in the middle of the room. You can still see some of the original roof timbers that are blackened by smoke from that old fireplace. Even though much of the roof was replaced in the 1930s, these old timbers remain.
Rooms for Different Uses
At one end of the Great Hall, there's a section called the cross-wing. This part holds the North and South Solars. These rooms were built as people started wanting more private and cozy spaces in their homes. The South Solar was added later, in the late 1500s or early 1600s.
The Earliest Days
Southchurch Hall likely stands on the spot where an even older Saxon hall once stood. The land itself was given to monks from Canterbury in 823 AD. The families who lived in the hall after that often took the name "de Southchurch." This tradition continued until Peter de Southchurch passed away in 1309.
What You Can See Inside
Discovering History
In the part of the hall that was added in the 1930s, there's a special display. It shows many interesting objects, called artefacts, that were found during digs at the site. These artefacts help us learn about the people who lived there long ago.
Famous Art
The collections at Southchurch Hall also include a large oil painting. It's called Attack on Southchurch Hall during the Peasants' Revolt, 1381. This painting was created by an artist named Alan Sorrell in 1969.
Gallery
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The South Solar of Southchurch Hall
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Southchurch Hall
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Southchurch Hall, showing the North and South Solars (the South being a Tudor extension), with the Main Hall stretching into the distance.
