Boltby Manor

The residents of Boltby in North Yorkshire formed the Boltby Millennium Group to research the history of  their village. Using grants offered under the Local Heritage Initiative, and with guidance from the North York Moors National Park Authority, they have begun to investigate what they believe may be the site of a medieval manor surviving as earthworks in fields on the outskirts of the village. There are very few surviving documents, but research by members of the Group suggests that the manor might be the home of the de Boltby family, who were powerful landowners in the area between 12th and the 14th centuries.

By 1281, it seems likely that Eva de Boltby, who had inherited her father's estates, lived with her husband in a large manor house at Ravensthorpe, more than a mile to the south of the village. However, the name de Boltby suggests that Boltby must have been her family's original home and some of her relatives may have continued to live there. In view of the potential importance of the site, English Heritage has agreed to make a contribution in kind to the project. So, with help from experts from the Landscape Investigation Team, the Boltby Millennium Group has now completed the first stage of the project: a detailed survey of the humps and bumps that are now all that can be seen of Boltby's lost manor.

A boundary earthwork with an unusual oval plan had previously caught the attention of archaeologists. This may have defined the limit of the private land directly associated with the lord of the manor's household. But the detailed new survey has revealed much more: the remains of a moat, which would have been filled with water by a spring a short distance upslope. The moat seems to have surrounded a large level platform where the manor house itself may once have stood. Scattered around the interior of the oval enclosure are several smaller platforms where outbuildings, such as kitchens, barns and dovecotes may have stood. The next step for the Boltby Millennium Group is to use the new survey of what can be seen on the surface to carefully target geophysical survey work, which will 'see' beneath the surface. Already, the partnership with English Heritage has brought a new understanding of the history of Boltby. But in due course, the members of the Boltby Millennium Group intend to publish a book which will draw together the results of all their different strands of research.

The manor lies on private land and there is strictly no access without the permission of the landowners.

The full report (ref.: AI/19/2002) can be ordered online. For more information contact Alastair Oswald in English Heritage's York office on 01904 601901 or e-mail al.oswald@english-heritage.org.uk