Moot Hall, Elstow | |
---|---|
Location | The Green, Elstow |
Coordinates | 52°06′58″N0°28′08″W / 52.1160°N 0.4690°W |
OS grid reference | TL0492947518 |
Built | c.1500 |
Built for | Elstow Abbey |
Architectural style(s) | Tudor style |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | Moot Hall |
Designated | 13 July 1964 |
Reference no. | 1136906 |
The Moot Hall, also known as the Green House, is a medieval structure on The Green in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England. The structure, which currently operates as a museum, is a Grade II* listed building. [1]
The building was originally commissioned as a market hall to serve Elstow Abbey. [2] It was designed in the Tudor style, built in timber frame in-filled with wattle and daub and was completed around 1500. [1] [3] The original design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of four bays facing onto Church End. On the ground floor, the first three bays from the west end featured round headed doorways which provided access to the original shop units. The first floor involved extensive use of jettied timber framing allowing the creation of extra space for the meeting room on that floor. The building was fenestrated by bi-partite casement windows on the ground floor and by single casement windows on the first floor. The roof was formed by rows of clay tiles. [1]
In addition to being used as a manorial court, the room on the first floor was used for hearings of the court of piepowders which resolved commercial disputes among merchants. [4] Following the dissolution of the monasteries, the estate was leased to Edward Harvey. His daughter, Isabel Harvey, married the local member of parliament, Humphrey Radcliffe, and in July 1553, he was granted ownership of the estate. [5]
The building was extended to the east by an extra bay later in the 16th century, and, around the same time, the wattle and daub was replaced by bricks. The estate was then acquired by a local squire, Sir Thomas Hillersden, in 1616. [6] The moot hall was one of the venues at which the writer, John Bunyan, who was born in the village, developed his nonconformist ideas in the mid-17th century. [7] [8]
The estate was then acquired by the brewer, Samuel Whitbread, in 1792. The Whitbread family allowed a religious group known as "the Congregation of the Bunyan Meeting" to use the moot hall for their meetings during much of the 19th century. [9] Major Simon Whitbread presented the Moot Hall to Bedfordshire County Council in 1950 and council restored the building as part of their celebrations for the Festival of Britain. [10] It became a museum displaying items related to John Bunyan in 1951 and works of art in the museum include a painting by Andrew Geddes depicting Bunyan in prison. [11]
John Bunyan was an English writer and Puritan preacher. He was baptised 30th November 1628 and lived until 31st August 1688. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, which also became an influential literary model. In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons.
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial and historic county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south-east, and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Luton.
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton. Bedford is also the historic county town of Bedfordshire and is now the seat of the Borough of Bedford, a unitary authority that includes other settlements and a significant rural area.
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Houghton House is a ruined mansion house in the parish of Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building, positioned above the surrounding countryside, and commands excellent views. Built from 1615 to 1621, it is said that the house was the model for House Beautiful in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678). It was abandoned in 1794 and stripped of its interiors and roof for sale as building supplies. Today the property is owned by English Heritage, and is open to free public access during daylight hours.
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Elstow is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Bedford town centre.
Elstow Abbey was a monastery for Benedictine nuns in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England. It was founded c.1075 by Judith, Countess of Huntingdon, a niece of William the Conqueror, and therefore is classed as a royal foundation.
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Elstow is a civil parish in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It contains 31 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade I, two are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish adjoins the large town of Bedford. Almost all the listed buildings are houses. Also listed are a church, a moot hall, two public houses and the ruined Hillersdon mansion.
The Moot Hall is a municipal building in Market Cross Place in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Aldeburgh Town Council, is a Grade I listed building.
Humphrey Radcliffe was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.
The Moot Hall is a former municipal building in the Market Place in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. The building, which now operates as two shops with office space above, is a Grade II listed building.
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