posh pottery from medieval Marks Hall

Senior Trust archaeologist Howard Brooks has been studying the post-Roman pottery excavated at Marks Hall in Essex for a couple of years. He is working with the voluntary Colchester Archaeological Group (CAG) and the University of Essex on their joint Marks Hall project. At Roman Circus House today (28th October), he was selecting fragments of pottery to be drawn for publication. The drawings will be part of Howard’s report on the excavations which the CAG will publish. 

The manor of Marks Hall was recorded in 1086. The house and estate of Marks Hall belonged to Hugh de Essex, but were granted to the de Merc family in 1163; they had been tenants there since 1086 and took their later surname ‘de Merkeshall’ or ‘de Markeshall’ from the estate. They also held the manor of Merks at Dunmow and the manor of Marks Tey, founded the church at Marks Hall and were benefactors of Coggeshall Abbey. From being manorial tenants, the family became eminent in its own right. The Markshalls sold the estate in 1562. It was bought by Robert Honywood in 1605 and it belonged to the Honywood family until 1897. (See The history and topography of Essex by Thomas Wright, 1836.)

Howard has identified one of the largest groups of Hedingham ware pottery found in Essex, from Marks Hall. Hedingham ware was a fine tableware pottery produced in kilns at Sible Hedingham, Halstead and Gosfield, not far from Colchester, in the 13th century. In Colchester Archaeological Report 7, the author writes that Hedingham ware ‘has long been recognised as the most distinctive medieval fine ware of northern Essex’. In the 13th century, the great house at Marks Hall was the home of a family of the local aristocracy, who would have required fine tablewares in their home.

The CAG excavations are on the site of the original great house and they are revealing different stages of development of the house, and producing finds which demonstrate the wealth of the owners through the centuries.

Visit the CAG web-site at http://caguk.net/ and the Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum web-site at www.markshall.org.uk/

The images show Howard holding three fragments from two Hedingham ware wine flagons and one of the flagons in close-up. These two flagons were locally made in the Rouen style, to imitate fine imported pottery, with applied decoration and a dark green glaze (circa 1175-circa 1275).

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