IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Church Lane, GRANTHAM, NG32 1PZ

Brick houses in limestone country, seen from outside the church.

These houses are on Church Lane

A very traditional village pump, looking well looked after.

Drainage channel on the outside of the tithe barn wall. The mystery here is that there is no corresponding structure on the other side of the wall. Our guide suggested that, as there are abundant springs throughout the village, the medieval builders came across a spring here and created this capped drain to take the water away from the barn foundations.

Looking down the length of the tithe barn towards the manor house. The barn is 6 metres wide by 7 metres long.

The garde-robe, (medieval toilet), on the outside of the private apartments wall. See also Image The lord and lady of the manor would have had a private room beyond the great hall most likely with a solar/sleeping chamber above it. The garde-robe would have been accessed from a small room off the corner of the upstairs chamber. Waste products would have fallen down a purpose built channel on the outside of the building into a pit below, seen in this photograph. This is situated in a small courtyard between the manor house and the tithe barn. The beautifully built arch gives access to the pit so the waste material can be dug out when full to be spread on the fields. A job for the lowest of the manor servants! The quality of this arch suggests that this was a high status building.

The garde-robe, (medieval toilet), on the outside of the private apartments wall. See also Image The lord and lady of the manor would have had a private room beyond the great hall most likely with a solar/sleeping chamber above it. The garde-robe would have been accessed from a small room off the corner of the upstairs chamber. Waste products would have fallen down a purpose built channel on the outside of the building into a pit below, this photograph is looking down at the pit. Situated in a small courtyard between the manor house and the tithe barn the pit could be accessed from outside so the waste material can be dug out when full to be spread on the fields. A job for the lowest of the manor servants!

This is the cattle barn. The manorial cattle would have been brought in at night for security. See Image and Image for more detailed images. This photograph illustrates the position in the village of the manor. The house itself and the surrounding buildings are in a large crew yard enclosed by a substantial gated wall. In the 12th century the villagers would have lived in basic wattle and daub one- or two-room houses surrounding the complex. The church is behind the view point. The quarry in Image is to the right, surrounded by blue safety netting.

A sophisticated method of draining the slurry from the cattle barn was discovered. There is a definite slope from the barn floor leading into a covered drain. This shows the foundations of the wall that divided the cattle barn from the tithe barn. The stones are "cemented" together with clay-based mud. The wattle and daub infill to the timber frame construction would have protected this type of construction from the weather. The tour group at the far end of the site are standing in the great hall of the manor house.

This is a more detailed look at the cattle barn, showing the "mystery" steps in the floor. The site guide said that there was no explanation for these and suggestions would be welcome! There is evidence that the barn had been slightly enlarged as there are two walls, a later one outside the older. The floor had been raised at some stage as well so there is a double layer of cobbles. Compare the quality of the walls here to that in the tithe barn, Image Tithe barns were used to store grain as well as luxury goods for the use of the lord and lady of the manor, such as wine, so it would have to be more substantial.