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The first major archaeological investigations of the moated house of St John’s Jerusalem in Sutton-at Hone, Kent – once home to a Knights Hospitaller Commandery – have revealed some of the site’s medieval origins, as well as its evolution during the Tudor period.
Founded in the 13th century after the site was given to the Knights Hospitaller by Robert Basing, construction of the Commandery chapel began under the direction of Henry III. This chapel still survives today as part of the main manor building, owned and let by the National Trust. While it is assumed that the chapel was once part of a wider Knights Hospitaller complex, little is known about what this included, and one of the aims of this recent project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was to determine whether any trace of these medieval buildings had survived.
A geophysical survey of the grounds was carried out in June of this year, revealing a number of intriguing features. This was followed by an excavation in the autumn, where archaeologists from Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme (part of Kent Downs AONB) and the National Trust, along with the help of local and student volunteers, opened four trial trenches to see whether these anomalies were of any significance.
The first trench, which was sited over apparent structures at the front of the house, revealed a number of chalk-built foundations. Although post-excavation analysis to determine chronology is ongoing, they appear to be post-medieval in date, and possibly relate to the time around the Dissolution. It was in the second trench, however, that more concrete evidence of the site’s medieval history was discovered. This revealed the foundations of what appears to have once been the west range of the main manor and, based on the construction of the walls, may have been part of the original medieval building. As it does not appear on estate maps from the 18th century, it must have been demolished sometime before this.
Small finds from the trenches included a medieval quarter penny from the reign of Henry III (r. 1216 1272), probably from the time the priory was founded. While other artefacts are still being analysed, preliminarily, they include bone toys and gaming pieces as well as items from the Victorian midden which filled up an L-shaped fishpond to the house’s east in the later 19th century.
This work has confirmed that some of the original Knights Hospitaller buildings remain on site, and it is hoped that, with future funding, further excavations could help reveal even more.
The team would like to give special thanks to the tenants of the manor, who were very accommodating to the dozens of archaeologists traipsing through their gardens, and to all the volunteers.
Image: Anne Sassin
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