Possible Gatehouse or Summerhouse at Hurley Hall

Description of this historic site

A building 150m south of Hurley Hall is visible on aerial photographs. Documentary research suggests it could be a Gatehouse or Summerhouse.

Notes about this historic site

1 The survey found evidence to suggest that part of the area was once a formal garden with a driveway entering the grounds in the southeast corner of the fields at the top of the hill. It seems probable that an ancillary building here, represented by a series of foundations adjacent to the driveway, was a gatehouse, although a secondary function as a summerhouse cannot be entirely ruled out.
2 There is no evidence for the use of the building, the footings of which are exposed, and which is situated next to the former entrance in the southern-most part of the field, there can be little doubt that this area was formerly gardens and not agricultural.
3 This structure, first noted as cropmarks on aerial photographs from the early 1970s, was subject to a programme of archaeological recording after having been exposed by the owner. Two elements within the construction of the brick and sandstone foundations were noted. An origin in the late 17th or 18th century, broadly contemporary with the main house, is suggested, although little datable evidence was recovered. From its form, it is suggested that the structure is likely to be an ornamental garden building of the type known as a gazebo, with an external staircase, and therefore probably the summerhouse recorded in documentary sources.

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