Southchurch Hall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Southchurch Hall
Southchurch Hall
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 / 51.536967; 0.729493
Construction started	c.1321-1364

Southchurch Hall is a really old house with a moat around it. It's in Southchurch, which is part of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. This special building is a Grade I listed site, meaning it's very important historically.

For many years, farming families lived in the Hall, right up until the 1920s. Then, in 1930, a family called the Dowsetts helped fix it up. They gave it to the town of Southend so everyone could visit and learn about its past. Southchurch Hall is even listed as one of the top 1,000 important houses in England! The moat that surrounds the house is also a protected historical site.

History of Southchurch Hall

When Was the Hall Built?

The main part of Southchurch Hall was built a very long time ago, between about 1321 and 1364. That's in the 14th century! Later, 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, it had a fireplace right in the middle of the room. If you look up, you can still see some of the original wooden beams in the roof. These beams are blackened from all the smoke from the old fireplace! Most of the roof was fixed up in the 1930s.

Rooms in the Hall

At one end of the Great Hall, there's a part called the cross-wing. This area has two special rooms: the North Solar and the South Solar. These "Solar" rooms were private spaces. They show how people started wanting smaller, more private rooms instead of just one big hall. The South Solar was added later, in the late 1500s or early 1600s, during the Tudor period.

Early History of the Land

Southchurch Hall might even stand on the spot where an even older Saxon hall once stood. The land itself was given to monks from Canterbury way back in 823 AD. Over time, the families who lived in the Hall started using "de Southchurch" as part of their family name. This tradition continued until Peter de Southchurch passed away in 1309.

Collections at Southchurch Hall

Archaeological Discoveries

In the part of the Hall that was added in the 1930s, you can see an exhibition. This display shows cool objects, called artefacts, that were found when archaeologists dug around the site. These finds help us learn more about the people who lived there long ago.

Famous Painting

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. It shows a dramatic moment from history!

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.