Postcard of Hanby Hall
Hanby Hall was the manor house for the lost village of Hanby, mentioned as one of the three manors in the Domesday Book under the entries for Waletune (Modern Welton le Marsh in Lincolnshire). It was demolished in 1975 having stood derelict for a long period. (Villager Tim Broughton claims responsibility for this decision as he and his childhood friends played in the falling down building, probably raising concerns over an accident for the owners!).
Noel Riley’s account of Hanby Hall
Noel and Sheila Riley kindly provided an account of their life in Welton le Marsh (future article). Noel recounted how as a child in the 1940s, he used to play in the grounds of Hanby Hall. He made two important observations; Firstly he found pieces of musket furniture scattered around the garden, which support the story of an English Civil War battle there (future article) and secondly the foreman of the grounds told him of the secret tunnel (future article) to Thwaite Hall which began in a “horse pit” at Hanby Hall (it was unclear even to Noel what a Horse pit was).
Arthur Hundleby’s account of Hanby Hall
Taken from Arthur’s book “Our village, Welton le Marsh”, written in 1938.
Hanby Hall is really only a large farm house close to Welton Wood but it has a very long and distinguished history. The Hamlet of Hanby is mentioned in the Domesday book as “Hunbia”, where it was quite as important as Waletone in the Lincoln Survey of 1303. There, as a reference to William of Hanby and 1346, John, William’s son, was in possession. In 1422 the same family owned the land for we hear of Walter of Hanby giving half a knight’s fee to the Abbott of Thornton. After this, however, the land musty have passed in to the hands of several smaller proprietors, as did other lands in the district.
Right until 1911 the roof of Hanby Hall was thatched, but in that year it was slated and and bought up to date inside. A Mr Jonathan Lancaster was living here up until his death in 1930. The land has been let by Mr Jonathan Clary of Toynton St Peter, but the house is occupied by a Mr J.Belton.
Signs of Ancient occupation and activity are not lacking. At a short distance from the house is a tumulus called Castle Hill, it would be interesting to know why. In one of the fields nearby there are also the remains of trenches. These may be all that is left of an ancient earthwork of the past, giving a hint of stirring times when Hanby has had to look after itself and put on a bold front in the face of danger.
Drawing of Hanby Hall by Arthur Hundleby
Conjecture on the history of Hanby Hall
There is controversy of the nature of Castle Hill, with some references to it as a Celtic Iron age hill fort, but others (such as Historic England/Pastscape: suggesting it to be a Norman motte castle). Assuming the latter (with a castle being built to subjugate the local population during the Harrying of the North 1069-1070), it can be seen that the small size of the top of the hill would not have allowed for expansion more than a single small wooden building. It is likely, therefore, that once the area had been secured by the fortified motte, a moated bailey was constructed alongside (rather than around) the motte, which formed the grounds for Hanby Hall.
Arthur Hundleby speculates on the “ancient earthworks” around Hanby Hall, suggesting that the occupants must have faced some sort of danger. He may have been right about two periods in history: The Normans probably did not feel secure from an angry local population, needing such protection. Later in the English civil war, a postulated battle of Hanby (article to follow) resulted in the Hall being burned down. This would agree with the architecture of the house which would appear to have been built in the second half of the 17th Century.
Formal description of Hanby Hall
The following information on Hanby Hall was taken from heritage gateway https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=fa8c1fa7-bb3d-4fc3-84ed-ba4586d79efa&resourceID=19191
Summary : Medieval moated enclosure, fishponds, enclosures and boundaries seen as earthworks. Possible site of the ‘lost’ Medieval village of Hanby. Eighteenth century house, possibly on the site of a Medieval hall. The island is covered with trees and undergrowth. The surrounding land is cultivated.
The lost village of Hanby is represented by Hanby Hall, an ancient farm-house surrounded by a moat within which foundations of earlier buildings have been traced (3). The Hamby family appear to have resided here temp. Henry III and Edward I, and Hanby is undoubtedly a corruption of Hamby (4). In his translation of the Lincolnshire Domesday Canon Foster (2) has both Hanby and Hamby. Slight traces of earthworks are visible on air photographs.
Hanby Hall which ranges from 18th century to modern stands within a manorial moat. In the NE corner of the moated area are the remains of associated fishponds. A slightly disturbed area within the moat on the site of an old orchard has been ploughed but no building remains are visible. Outside the moat the traces of desertion are confined to field roads within an area bounded by rig and furrow.
The Medieval moated enclosure and fishponds, referred to by the previous authorities, were seen as earthworks and mapped from good quality air photographs. The moat encloses a rectangular area, measuring 150m by 150m, and is centred at TF 4752 6973. The eighteenth century hall sits over the north west corner of the moat. A partially visible enclosure, measuring 70m by 110m, adjoins the north side of the moat. Within this are two fishponds and a possible third is attached to the side of the enclosure. Adjacent to the south east corner of the moat is an incomplete rectangular ditched enclosure, measuring 30m by 25m, centred at TF 4763 6966. This has been ploughed and is now visible as cropmarks. Parallel to its south side are perpendicular boundaries, possibly parts of another enclosure. More perpendicular boundaries are visible to the north of the moat, centred at TF 4747 7000. Nothing positively identifiable as Medieval village remains were visible on the available air photographs. A possible motte is adjacent to the moat and associated remains.
In 1086 Gilbert de Gant held land at Welton le Marsh. During the 13th century Jolanus de Hamby held land of the earl of Arundel in Welton. It is believed that the Hamby family were resident at Hanby during this period. The Hambys subsequently married into the Willoughby family and the manor of Hanby was recorded among the possessions of the ninth Lord Willoughby on his death in 1525. Part of the manor of Hanby was still held by the Willoughby family in the 19th century.
The moat now encloses the island on two sides. The eastern moat arm was infilled and ploughed in late 1988 or early 1999. The northern arm and north eastern corner of the moat lay to the north of the present track, in an area now under cultivation, and are no longer evident. The extant sections of the moat measure up to 10m in width and 1m deep in places and now serving as a drainage ditch.
A series of outbuildings were located to the north west of the the Hall and obscured the north western corner of the moat. The Hall has been demolished together with the surrounding outbuildings leaving one extant group of buildings, part of Hanby Hall Farm, to the north west of the moat.
Other cropmarks in the vicinity indicate boundaries, enclosures and the remains of ridge and furrow. The area is now under cultivation and only slight earthwork remains of the square enclosure are now visible. The island is planted with trees. Poor survival means that the fishponds and the moated site do not fulfill the requirements for scheduling. (9) “
Welton le Marsh 