Leveson Manor House

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Leveson Manor House
Leveson Manor House, site of.jpg
Site of the manor house prior to the 2025 excavations
Leveson Manor House
Former namesMoat House
Alternative namesWillenhall Moated Site
General information
StatusDemolished
Type Manor house
LocationMoat Street, Willenhall
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates 52°35′13″N2°03′20″W / 52.58705499972223°N 2.0555955999999997°W / 52.58705499972223; -2.0555955999999997
Completed16th century
Closedc. 1800
Demolishedc. 1884
Owner Walsall Council
Design and construction
Architect(s) Leveson family

The Leveson Manor House, contemporarily known as the Moat House, [1] and also known as the Willenhall Moated Site, [2] is a former manor house in the area of Willenhall in England. It was once a large building surrounded by a moat. [3] [4]

Contents

History

A moat existed on the site during the Medieval period. [2] Alongside a similar property in Wolverhampton, the Manor House was built during the 16th century by the Wolverhampton branch of the Leveson family, [1] and it was the largest building in Willenhall by the 17th century. [4] [5] Listed as the Moat House, the building first appears in records in 1666 when it is owned by John Leveson and is listed as containing ten hearths. [6] The last member of the Leveson family who owned the building died in 1752 and it was sold to Thomas Hincks in 1763. [7]

Ruins of the Moat Field Works in May 2025 Moat Field Works.jpg
Ruins of the Moat Field Works in May 2025

The Manor House was demolished by 1800, [3] [5] [8] and a fishpond was added to what remained of the moat during this time. The grounds of the Manor House also first appears on maps of the area in 1800, [9] and beginning in 1841 the moat lies within an area of Willenhall known as Hall End. [10] A plan of the moat was published in 1856. [11]

The grounds existed until 1872, when a railway line was built in the area. [3] [7] The moat survived until 1884 when the Moat Field Works were built. [12]

The Moat Field Works building was extended by Samuel Baker in 1901, and it merged with Century Lock in 1955. [13] It closed during the 1990s and was damaged by fire in 2015 and 2025. [14]

Excavation and development of the site

The site of the Manor House was identified in 2014 when Keepmoat, who owned the site of the Manor House, sold the land to the Walsall Council as part of the Willenhall Conservation Area to allow for planning permission to demolish the Moat Field Works to build houses, which was granted in November 2024. [15]

The factory burnt down on 8 March 2025 [14] and the demolition of the site began on 17 May 2025, with archaeological excavations to be undertaken by the Willenhall History Society to search for the ruins of the Manor House shortly after. [5]

Description

Apart from the maps produced in 1800 and 1841, [9] [10] there are no more records of what the building looked like or any indication of any ruins surviving today. [5] It has been suggested that the layout of the building was similar to other manor houses from the 16th century. [2] [3]

References

  1. 1 2 "The Growing Town". Willenhall Though The Ages. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Moated Site (site Of), Moat Street, Willenhall". blackcountryhistory.org. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 1975. Moated Site List. Bham Mus.
  4. 1 2 Tildesley Norman W. (1951). A History of Willenhall. 150.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Former Willenhall manor remains could be unearthed in archaeological dig". Express and Star. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  6. ↑ 1923. Historical Collections for Staffordshire: Hearth Tax Returns 1666. 158.
  7. 1 2 "Street Names - M". Willenhall History Society. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Larkham P J. (1982). Moated Sites in South Staffordshire. Trans Staffordshire Archaeol Hist Soc 24, 8-65. Site 70/03; 49.
  9. 1 2 Godson. (1800). Plan of the hamlet or township of Willenhall.
  10. 1 2 Beckett H. (1841). Tithe map of Willenhall. 1:2376.
  11. ↑ Hall, Jeffrey Austin. (1855–6). Plan of the town of Willenhall. 1:528.
  12. ↑ Cherrington Richard. (2007). Land between Moat Street and Wood Street, Willenhall: An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment 2007.
  13. ↑ Walsall Council, Willenhall Conservation Area, Appraisal and Management Plan, 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Police issue update on Willenhall derelict factory fire". Express and Star. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  15. ↑ "Council acquires first derelict building in Willenhall as development moves a step closer". Walsall Council. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
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