Site Event/Activity record ECH7104 - Poole Hall - Research and Recording

Summary The site is recorded in the Domesday Book but may be much older: a ditched enclosure, shown as a crop mark in a field W of the hall, may be of Iron Age or Romano-British date.1 George Ormerod has documented the manor’s owners and heirs from 1288 to 1882.2 House: The present Poole Hall was built 1812-17 for William Massey on or near the site of the previous house(s). Pevsner suggests that the architect was John Webb, as the house “has similarities with Webb’s equally simple Leck Hall…The exceptionally fine interior looks like the work of Lewis Wyatt”.3 Grounds: The only documentary evidence for the layout of the grounds is Ormerod’s statement: “the grounds were laid out under the direction of John Webb”.4 As a result, the site’s extant L-shaped water-feature has been interpreted as an ornamental pond forming part of the early C19 ornamental gardens and park5. However, recent research found Poole estate maps dated 1601 and 1700. They show that Poole is a moated site with house and ancillary buildings situated on a rectangular platform protected by two arms of a moat with outer banks. This moat has survived in situ until today. Historic maps and a recent site confirm that Webb’s layout and much of his planting have remained essentially intact. Principal remaaining features Moat before 1600 Designed landscape 1812-19, including: • Ha-ha & ditch holly hedging • Moat House • Walls of kitchen garden • Specimen trees Poole Hall, 1812-17, II* Timber framed barn, late C17, II Crop mark of ditched enclosure