Marks Hall Mansion History

Welcome

This is the official website for the project Rescuing and Presenting Lost Heritage: Promoting Public Engagement with Marks Hall and the World of the Vanished Country House, sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) at Marks Hall Estate and the University of Essex. Like many such country house sites, the lost Jacobean Marks Hall mansion stood on a ancient site of habitation. The archaeology reveals a site stretching back to Saxon, Roman and bronze age times, with recovered remains that can open up a historical record of continuity to support the re-creation of the post-Elizabethan house and estate.

 

Located on the Marks Hall Estate, just outside Coggeshall, Essex, records of the site date back to the 1088 Domesday Book. The Jacobean mansion was demolished in 1950, and an archaeological dig is currently taking place to uncover not only the footprint of the mansion, but also its predecessor manor house.

 

This new wave of research into the house is being headed by the Department of History of the University of Essex, in conjunction with the Colchester Archaeological Group and the School of Computer Sciences and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex.

 

Marks Hall Mansion

Overview

The mansion stood at the heart of the Marks Hall Estate. Throughout the centuries, the mansion, and manor house before it, had numerous owners, all of whom contributed to the house in different ways. The Honywood family owned Marks Hall, along with other estates, from the late Sixteenth- to the late Nineteenth-century. More information in the history of the house and its owners can be discovered on the history page.

 

The house is no longer standing, having been demolished in 1950. The true reasons for its demolition are obscure and complex; current research aims to uncover a more definitive answer. An archaeological dig is also taking place, revealing the footprint of the Jacobean mansion, and tracing the earlier history of the site. This dig is being carried out by the Colchester Archaeological Group.

 

In July 2012, the Department of History at the University of Essex was awarded a grant by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to help research the history of the mansion, and contribute to historical knowledge of lost mansions. As part of this project, efforts are being made to use archaeological discoveries and academic research to interpret the original appearance of the mansion, and to give members of the public an insight into the life, times, and feel of the house.

Link to history page

Links

Contact us

Email: enquiries@markshall.org.uk

 

Telephone: 01376 563796

  

People

Professor James Raven:


Professor of Modern History in the Department of History at the University of Essex, and director of the project.


Dr Jane Pearson:

Teaching fellow and part-time lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Essex. Dr Pearson is conducting oral interviews with those who remember the house, and is helping to write a new guide book to include new research findings for the house and site.


Dr Adrian Clark:

 Reader in Computer Vision and Virtual Reality in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex. He is working on 3D reconstructions of the mansion and its environs.


Dr Tim Dennis:

Retired Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex. He is performing ground surveys (aka "geophys") and extracting information from the Mansion's archive.


Professor Simon Lucas:

Professor of Computer Science in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex. He is exploring how to produce games that show different aspects of life in Marks Hall in particular, and 20th Century houses in general.


Ian Yearsley:

He has written eight books about Essex History and has an MA in History (University of Essex), an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxford) and a Certificate of Continuing Education in Local Historical Studies (Essex). He is one of the Knowledge Exchange Officers in the Project, focusing on funding applications, organising academic conferences and papers, and helping to write a new book about the history of the Mansion.

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Sponsorship

This project was sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council

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