TOWN ASSESSMENT REPORT BOCKING - Internet Archaeology ...

TOWN ASSESSMENT REPORT
BOCKING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY 3
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TOWN 3
EVIDENCE 4
LISTED BUILDINGS 6
SYNTHESIS 7
SUMMARY OF GENERAL IMPORTANCE OF THE TOWN 12
RESEARCH PRIORITIES 13
BIBLIOGRAPHY 14
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: Documentary sources 15
APPENDIX 2: Listed buildings 16
APPENDIX 3: Urban components list 20
FIGURES
ENVIRONS 21
HISTORIC TOWN EXTENT 22
SMR - BRADFORD ST 23
SMR - CHURCH ST 24
LISTED BUILDINGS - BRADFORD ST 25
LISTED BUILDINGS - CHURCH ST 26
FIELD WORK 27
MEDIEVAL INTERPRETATION - GENERAL 28
MEDIEVAL INTERPRETATION - BRADFORD ST 29
MEDIEVAL INTERPRETATION – CHURCH ST 30
POST-MEDIEVAL INTERPRETATION- GENERAL 31
POST-MEDIEVAL INTERPRETATION- BRADFORD ST 32
POST-MEDIEVAL INTERPRETATION- CHURCH ST 33
DISTURBANCE AND FLOODING 34
PLANNING CONSTRAINTS 35
2

INTRODUCTION
BOCKING
HISTORIC TOWN ASSESSMENT REPORT
This report is an archaeological and historical assessment of Bocking and forms part
of the Essex Historic Towns Survey. This is an extensive urban survey as defined by
English Heritage (1992) of 32 historic settlements in Essex. This project, funded by
English Heritage, forms part of a nationwide reassessment of the management of the
urban archaeological resource. The project is being carried out by Essex County
Council’s Planning Department and takes as its basis a survey carried out by the
County Council in the early 1980’s. This was published as Historic Towns in Essex
(Eddy and Petchey 1983) and adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance by the
County and District Councils.
This report has been compiled using a number of sources, including the Essex Sites
and Monuments Record (ESMR), the List of Buildings of Architectural and Historical
Interest, records held by the County Planning Department’s Historic Buildings Section,
and various cartographic and documentary records (following an assessment of such
records by Dr Chris Thornton of the Victoria County History, Essex). The preparation
of this report has involved the addition of information to the ESMR database and the
digitising of spatial data onto a Geographic Information System (GIS).
For the purposes of this study the Roman period is the time-span between 43-410, the
Saxon period is 410-1066, the medieval period is 1066-1536, the post-medieval period
is 1536-1900 and the modern period is 1900 to the present day. This corresponds to
the period divisions used by the ESMR.
LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY
Bocking is a bi-focal settlement sited within Braintree District, and immediately to the
north of Braintree town. Both settlement foci are located on the River Pant/Blackwater.
Bocking Churchstreet is the most northerly focal point, and probably the oldest as it
contains the parish church. Bocking Bradford Street is situated approximately 1km to
the south of Churchstreet immediately adjoining Braintree town. Braintree and Bocking
now form a single Urban District within Braintree District.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TOWN
There is some evidence for settlement of the Bocking area in the prehistoric and
Roman period, concentrated in the Bradford Street area, Bradford Street itself follows
the route of the Roman road from Chelmsford to Long Melford and Braintree itself was
a Roman town. In the late tenth century Bocking belonged to the Saxon thegn
Aetheric who bequeathed it to Christchurch at some date immediately prior to 999,
Canterbury held Bocking until the Reformation and still has the right to grant the
Deanery. Medieval Bocking was a bi-focal settlement, based on Church Street and
Bradford Street, linked by Church Lane and the River Pant/Blackwater. The original
focus of settlement was around the existing Late Saxon church and manorhouse in
Bocking Churchstreet, with Bradford Street developing later in response to its position
on the main road and proximity to Braintree market. In 1304 Flemish weavers arrived in
3

Bocking, an event that maybe directly linked with the construction of the new fulling mill
by the Abbot of Canterbury in 1303. By the later medieval and early post-medieval
period Bocking was an important cloth town, by the early sixteenth century specialising
in the manufacture of bays and says. This period of prosperity is reflected by the
development of Bocking Bradford Street. The woollen cloth industry went into terminal
decline in the eighteenth century but the early nineteenth century saw the rise of the
silk industry, with the opening of the Courtauld factory at Bocking Church Street. In
1939 the parishes of Bocking and Braintree were united to form a single Urban District,
and the two towns are no longer physically separated.
EVIDENCE
DOCUMENTARY
Summary assessment of the documentary and cartographic evidence
by Chris Thornton (Victoria County History)
Bocking is reasonably well documented for its size, although the sources appear rather
fragmentary in nature. The chief manor was possessed by the Christchurch Cathedral
Priory, Canterbury, in the medieval period, and a series of medieval extents, surveys
and rentals survive in the Cathedral archive. There are also large collections of
medieval and later deeds in the ERO, BL etc., some late medieval and early modern
court rolls, and seventeenth and eighteenth century rentals for other properties. The
surviving maps and plans in the ERO do show some detail of built-up area and
buildings, but only cover a chronologically narrow time-span from the mid-eighteenth
century onwards.
Modern development for both Braintree and Bocking is covered by business and local
government records. For the modern industrial history see ‘An account of the textile
industry in Bocking to 1839’ (ERO T/Z 27) and Coleman, D.C., (1969, 1980),
Courtaulds: an economic and social history. See also a thesis on the mills of Samuel
Courtauld and Co. (ERO T/Z 75/11), Blake, D.J. and Crittall, A., (1989), Window
Vision and Quin, W.F. (1981) A history of Bocking and Braintree.
Assessment of the place-name and documentary evidence
The place-name Bocking (Boccinge) is first mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon will dating to
c.995 (Reaney, 1935, 413) and the earliest reference to Bradford Street is from the
Court Rolls of 1384.
The Domesday Book records Braintree in 1066 and 1086 (Rumble, 1983). Bocking
was held by the monks of Christ Church and Holy Trinity, Canterbury:-
Holy Trinity has always held Bocking as a manor, for 4½ hides. 2 ploughs in lordship.
Then 35 men’s ploughs, now 29.
Then 19 villagers, now 18; then 25 smallholders, now 44; then 4 slaves, now 2.
Woodland, 300 pigs; pasture for 60 sheep; meadow, 22 acres; 1 mill. 6 cattle, 100
sheep and 54 pigs.
To this manor have always belonged 2 hides in (West) Mersea ...
In total, value then £24; now 28.
Canterbury still holds the right to nominate the Dean of Bocking.
4

ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Above ground remains
The above ground remains consist of the medieval and post-medieval built
environment, including the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, the late medieval
merchants houses and wool halls along Bradford Street, Bocking windmill and
Bradford Street watermill and the public buildings and worker’s cottages erected by the
Courtauld family.
Excavations
Only a few excavations and watching-briefs have been undertaken in Bocking and
these have only been small-scale. However the trial-pit at 190-210 Church Lane
(published as 178-196 Church Street) did establish the presence of archaeological
deposits to a depth of about 1m, largely as a consequence of the need to raise the
ground-level because of persistent river flooding.
Table 1: Fieldwork undertaken in Bocking
ESMR DATE SITE ARCHIVE
LOCATION
6545 1986 114 Bradford Street Finds: None,
Archive: ESMR
16397 1992 ‘Coach house’, next to Archive: ESMR,
89 Bradford Street Finds: None
16346 1990 3 Canterbury Grange, Archive: ESMR,
Church Street
16820-3 1996 Former Bradford Street
Garage Site (BKBS96)
16310 1986 190-210 Church Lane,
BK86 (published as 178-
196 Church Street)
Finds: None
Archive and finds:
Howard Brooks
Archaeological
Services
Archive: ESMR,
Finds: Montrose
Road
PUBLICATION
Andrews, D., 1986, ‘114 Bradford Street,
Bocking’, ESMR
Havis, R. , ‘Coach house’, next to 89
Bradford Street, Bocking’, ESMR
Havis, R., 1990, ‘3 Canterbury grane,
Bocking Churchstreet, W/B’, ESMR
Brooks, H., 1996, ‘Excavations on the
former Bradford Street Garage Site,
Bocking: Archaeological Evaluation’
ESMR
Andrews, D. and Watkin, B., 1988, 'A
timber-framed building at Bocking (nos.
178-196 Church Street)', Essex Archaeol.
Hist. 19, 215-222
Finds
Medieval and post-medieval pottery by Helen Walker (Essex County Council Field
Archaeology Group)
The geographical location of Bocking is of particular interest in the studies of ceramic
distributions. There is the question of the relationship between Hedingham ware and
Bocking, which was one of the nearest consumer sites. The presence of the Mill End
bowl from the Colchester area is also of interest as the Hedingham kilns, which also
produced coarse wares, would have been a much closer source for this form of pottery.
This may be evidence of extended distribution along Stane Street, which ran east-west
from St Albans to Colchester.
Medieval
A sherd probably from a large 13th century Mill End-type bowl (a production site
outside Colchester) was found at Bradford Street, Bocking (Drury 1976, 103). A small
amount of pottery was found during excavation of a timber-framed building at Church
5

Street, Bocking (Andrews and Watkin 1988), comprising a handful of small late
medieval sandy orange ware sherds dating between the 14th and 16th centuries.
There is also a sherd of tin-glazed earthenware from a flatware showing a turquoise
internal glaze which may have a Mediterranean origin. Excavations at Bocking Hall
produced two sherds of medieval coarse ware (Andrews 1988, unpublished).
Post-medieval
Two sherds of unglazed post-medieval red earthenware dating from the late 15th/16th
century onwards were found at Bocking Hall (Andrews 1988 unpublished).
LISTED BUILDINGS
in consultation with Anne Holden and Dave Stenning (Listed Buildings)
The schedule of listed buildings provided in this report is derived from the List of
Buildings of Special Architectural and Historical Interest. This List has been compiled
over many years through the work of many inspectors and, as a result, the reliability of
the List varies from District to District. Time was extremely limited and very few
interiors were looked at, or even the rear wings of buildings. Where further research
has been carried out on individual buildings, this has often shown the limitations of the
List descriptions. The List for Bocking was originally compiled in 1973, it can be
considered to be of fair reliability. It has been possible to supplement the information
provided in the List through the knowledge and records of the County Historic
Buildings and Design Section. Bocking has 98 Listed Buildings, of which 17 are
Grade II*, the remainder are Grade II. The following table shows the buildings
grouped by their construction date as attributed in the List, however it must be treated
with caution as further research has demonstrated that some of the buildings have
earlier antecedents.
Table 2: Listed Buildings by century of origin
CENTURY NUMBER
14 1
15 1
16 20
17 33
18 29
19 12
Amongst the buildings of particular interest are:-
• 98 Bradford Street which has a cross-wing with service doors of probable mid
fourteenth century date.
• 67/69 Bradford Street is an early fourteenth century public-building, jettied on its
northern side.
• The Dragon House, Bradford Street is a mid-sixteenth century long-wall jetty house.
• Wentworth House, Bradford Street has builds of many periods, the southern
fourteenth century cross-wing is probably a shop or workshop.
• 75 Bradford Street is an early fourteenth century, probably non-domestic crosswing,
with a remarkable two light window, visible to the flank.
General information derived from the Listed Buildings evidence is incorporated in the
period syntheses below.
6

SYNTHESIS
PRE-URBAN SYNTHESIS
Prehistoric
The excavations at the Bradford Street Garage Site (ESMR 16820) revealed a large pit
containing a flint core and a few flakes. Further flint tools and flakes have been found
in and around the Bocking area.
Roman
Bradford Street follows the route of the Roman road from Chelmsford to Long Melford.
The excavations at the Bradford Street Garage Site (ESMR 16821) revealed a single
Roman ditch that might be the western roadside ditch. A number of Roman burials
were found about 300m to the south-west of Bradford Street. The only evidence for
Roman activity in the vicinity of Churchstreet is the stray find of a coin on the site of
Courtauld’s Mill.
Saxon
The evidence for the Saxon period in Bocking is entirely documentary. In the late tenth
century it belonged to the Saxon thegn Aetheric who bequeathed it to the monks of
Christchurch, Canterbury (later Holy Trinity Cathedral), at some date prior to 999. The
Domesday Book (Rumble, 1983) records that in 1066 it was still held by the monks of
Holy Trinity, at which time it had 48 households and 1 mill. It is known that a church
was already in existence by the late tenth century, probably on the site of the later
medieval church, as Aetheric specified in his will that ‘one hide I will give to the church
for the priest who serve God there’ (Hoffmann, 1976). The Saxon church was
destroyed by fire in the early eleventh century.
URBAN SYNTHESIS
Medieval synthesis and components
Medieval Bocking was a bi-focal settlement linked by Church Lane and the River
Pant/Blackwater. The original focus of settlement was around the existing Late Saxon
church and manorhouse in Bocking Churchstreet with Bradford Street developing later
in response to its position on the main road and proximity to Braintree market. In 1304
Flemish weavers arrived in Bocking, an event which maybe directly linked with the
construction of the new fulling mill by the Abbot of Canterbury in 1303. An Extent of
Bocking dating to 1309 (Quin, 1981) records that it had an adult male population of 86.
The medieval urban components are:-
Built-up area
Medieval Bocking was a bi-focal settlement, consisting of Church Street and Bradford
Street, linked by Church Lane and the River Pant/Blackwater. The original focus of
settlement was around the church and manorhouse in Bocking Churchstreet (TL 75860
25755), where the Saxon settlement is presumed to have been located. Bradford
Street (TL 76094 24171) probably developed originally to service the travellers and
pilgrims using the road, and the Woolpack on Bradford Street was reputedly built as a
Pilgrim’s Inn (Brisley, 1992). The growth of the wool trade saw a shift in emphasis from
7

Church Street to Bradford Street, where the houses and wool-halls of the
manufacturers and merchants were concentrated because of its proximity to Braintree
market and its position on the main road.
The excavations at the Bradford Street Garage Site (ESMR 16822) revealed a
medieval ditch which maybe the rear property of a medieval frontage plot on Bradford
Street.
Parisb Church of St Mary the Virgin (TL 75692 25679)
The original Saxon church was destroyed by fire in the early eleventh century, and
appears to have been rebuilt in stone at about the date of the Norman Conquest.
There are a few fragments of this eleventh century church, consisting of the capital
and base of a column incorporated into the north aisle of the late medieval church
(Quin, 1981). The present flint and rubble structure is fourteenth century in origin
(1385-1422). In the early fifteenth century the west tower was added and there was
further re-building in the mid-fifteenth century. From 1490-1520 the church was again
substantially rebuilt, with the addition of the north and south aisles and their chapels.
Chapel of St James (TL 76065 24188)
Bequests in 1510 and 1517 mention the Chapel of St James which stood in Bradford
Street. This building is perhaps the same as the Hospital of St James which Henry III
made a grant of protection for in 1229. It has been suggested (Quin, 1981) that the
Chapel stood close to the junction of Bradford Street with Church Lane next to the Six
Bells Inn.
Bocking Hall manorhouse (TL 75692 25744)
Bocking Hall was the manorhouse for the Manor of Christchurch Canterbury. In an
Extent of 1309 it was described as ‘well and sufficiently built’, on a five acre site with a
courtyard, garden, meadow, dovecote and two mills, one of which was for fulling
(Hoffmann, 1976). The manorhouse itself was rebuilt in the second half of the
sixteenth century, but is thought to occupy much the same site as its predecessor.
Thirty metres to the east of the Hall is an early fourteenth century single aisled building
(ESMR 5140) with a fifteenth century extension, that originally formed part of the hall
complex.
Deanery (TL 75621 25449)
The land for the Deanery had been granted as part of the terms of Aetheric’s will in the
late tenth century (Hoffmann, 1976). The Old Deanery is sited on the western side of
the river, opposite to the Parish Church and is thought to have occupied the same site
since the late Saxon period. The present building incorporates some early fourteenth
century elements in the north wing, but was substantially extended and altered in the
Tudor period.
Doreward’s Hall (TL 76270 25359)
The present building at Doreward’s Hall was built in 1579, however it is thought to be
on the same site as the medieval manorhouse of Doreward’s which had its origins in
the late Saxon period.
Public Buildings
67/69 Bradford Street (TL 7603 2400) is an early fourteenth century public building.
75 Bradford Street (TL 76015 24015) appears to have had a first floor with no internal
divisions, suggesting a public building function. The rear wing of 89 Bradford Street
(TL 76010 24088) may also have been a Wool Hall. 40 Bradford Street (TL 76065
23930) dates to c. 1400, with a possible commercial hall or wool hall on the first floor.
8

190-210 Church Lane (TL 75758 25421, ESMR 16310, misnamed 178-196 Church
Street in Andrews and Watkins 1988) is an early sixteenth century timber-framed
building of very high quality and has been interpreted as a merchants house
incorporating a possible Wool Hall. The majority of the public buildings are along
Bradford Street, and it has been suggested that many of these were Wool Halls,
associated with the cloth trade.
Church Alehouse (TL 76125/24209)
There is a strong local tradition that the Six Bells, Bradford Street originally was a
Church Alehouse. Brisley (1992, pl.5) has published a photograph of the original Six
Bells, which certainly appears to have its origins as a late medieval public building,
with Victorian modifications. The carved wooden figure ‘Old Harkilees’ was re-used as
a decorative feature on the facade, it is now in Braintree Museum. The original Six
Bells was demolished in the 1930’s when the road was widened.
Schoolhouse
A schoolhouse is documented as being in existence in 1399 (Quin, 1981), it was
founded as part of the Doreward’s Chantry bequest. Its location is not known, but it
was probably in the vicinity of the parish church.
Priest’s house (TL 75685 25705)
The Doreward family founded two chantries in 1362 and 1397 respectively (Quin,
1981), each apparently with its own chantry priest and each priest had a house and
garden. In 1445 it was recorded that the priest who served the Doreward’s Chantry
had a house and garden in ‘that part of the churchyard which lies on the far side of the
church’.
Maison de Dieu/Royal Almshouses (TL 75755 25570)
In 1440 a royal license was granted for a ‘Maison de Dieu’ for the relief and reception
of seven poor people of Bocking. This later became the Royal Almshouses, but these
were demolished and replaced in 1869.
Guild-hall (Approximately TL 75862 25729)
There is a tradition that a guild-hall stood in Bocking Church Street, next to the ‘King
William’ (Quin, 1981).
Mills
The Domesday Book records the existence of one mill in Bocking in 1086. In 1303 the
Abbot of Canterbury paid for the construction of a new fulling mill, possibly to replace
the Domesday structure, and in 1308 a further sum was paid for a new gate (floodgate?)
for the mill. The Domesday mill and the Abbot’s mill were probably located on
the River Pant/Blackwater (TL 75593 25645) close to the parish church. By the late
medieval period there was a total of three water-powered fulling mills in Bocking and
three wind-mills for corn. The fulling mills were located at Bradford Street (TL 76243
24338), Church Street (TL 75593 25645) and Straits Mill (TL 76997 24331).
Pillory, whipping-post and ducking-stool (Approximately TL 75759 25635)
The pillory, whipping-post and ducking-stool were first mentioned in the Extent of 1309
(Quin, 1981). The pillory and whipping-post stood at the gates of the manor, whilst the
ducking-stool was located on the river by the bridge.
9

Post-medieval and modern synthesis and components
Bocking was still an important cloth towns at the beginning of the post-medieval
period, having by the early sixteenth century specialised in the manufacture of bays
and says. The principal market for the Bocking bays and says was abroad,
particularly Spain and Portugal (Baker, 1981). The cloth trade was however prone to
peaks and troughs, dependent on the communications and relationships with its
overseas markets. In 1557 Bocking had 800 people over the age of 14, but by 1575
this had increased to 1500. However, between 1665-7 441 people died of the plague,
nearly one-third of the town’s population. In Bocking at the end of the seventeenth
century 148 out of 158 apprenticeships were in the wool trade. This period of
prosperity is reflected by the development of Bocking Bradford Street. The woollen
cloth industry went into terminal decline in the eighteenth century but the early
nineteenth century saw the rise of the silk industry, with the opening of the Courtauld
factory at Bocking Church Street. In 1939 the parishes of Bocking and Braintree were
united to form a single Urban District.
Built-up area
Post-medieval Bocking was based on the original medieval foci of Church Street
(centred TL 75860) and Bradford Street (centred TL 76094 24171), with some ribbon
development along Church Lane. The quality of the early post-medieval buildings in
Bradford Street, in particular the number of public buildings (probably wool-halls)
reflects the prosperity of this area due to the wool-trade. The role of silk manufacturing
and the Courtauld family in Bocking in the ninteenth and early twentieth centuries is
recorded by a number of public buildings in Church Street and 121-139 Church Street
which were built in 1872 by Samuel Courtauld as high quality housing for the workers
in Bocking Mill. In the late twentieth century the building of large-scale housing
estates on the western side of Church Lane has effectively linked Bradford Street to
Church Street, and Bocking to Braintree.
Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin (TL 75692 25679)
The churchyard wall is of flint and rubble construction of sixteenth century date, it is
embattled with moulded stone copings and two seventeenth century arquebus rests. It
was patched with brick in the seventeenth century. The church was extensively
restored in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
United Reformed Church (Congregational) (TL 76166 26051)
The United Reformed Church (Congregational), Church Street was built in 1862 and is
still in use.
Franciscan Convent and the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception (TL 76300
24340)
The Franciscan Convent and the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Broad Street,
Bocking, is an irregular group of red brick buildings, designed by J.F. Bentley in 1898.
The Convent included an orphanage and school. It is now a residential home for the
elderly.
Bocking Hall (TL 75692 25747)
The present Bocking Hall is a timber-framed and plastered house built in the second
half of the sixteenth century, added to in the seventeenth century and altered in the
10

eighteenth. It stands on the site of the medieval manorhouse of Christchurch
Canterbury.
Doreward’s Hall (TL 76270 25359)
The present Doreward’s Hall is said to have been built by Edward Thursby in 1579.
Further additons were made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is partly of
brick construction and partly timber-framed and plastered.
Deanery (TL 75621 25449)
The Deanery is a largely early seventeenth century timber-framed and plastered
building, incorporating a few older elements, with an eighteenth century plastered brick
south-east front. There is a late seventeenth century dovehouse with wattle and daub
nesting boxes for 130 doves in the Deanery grounds.
Workhouse (TL 75758 25421)
Bocking Parish Workhouse was located on Church Lane (Nos. 190-210). It is an early
sixteenth century timber-framed building, that was used as the parish workhouse in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (ESMR 16310). The gambrel-roofed addition
dates to this phase. It was replaced in 1838 by the Poor Law Union workhouse, on
Rayne Road, Braintree.
The Workmans Hall (TL 75739 25623)
The Workmans Hall, Church Street was built by the Courtauld family as a place of
recreation for the mill employess in 1889. It was designed by George Sherrin who
designed many other of the Courtauld buildings.
Village Hall and United Services Club (TL 75990 25949)
The Village Hall and United Services Club buildings at the junction of Church Street
and Fennes Road were built in 1912 by Mr S. Augustine Courtauld.
Braintree and Bocking Cottage Hospital (TL 76464 24690)
Mrs G. Courtauld founded a Cottage Hospital in Broad Road, Bocking in 1871, but in
1921 it was replaced by the William Julian Courtauld Hospital on London Road,
Braintree.
Almshouses (TL 75755 25570)
The medieval almshouses at the southern end of Church Street were demolished and
rebuilt in red brick in 1869.
Courtauld’s Mill (TL 75593 25645)
In Samuel Courtauld 1819 purchased the old fulling mill at Bocking Church Street and
converted it to silk manufacture, subsequently adding a steam factory in 1826 and a
finishing factory. It specialised in the production of black mourning crêpe. By the
1880s more than 1,300 workers were employed by the firm in Braintree and Bocking,
out of a total population of 8,500, and more than 90% of the workforce were women. In
1904 Courtaulds bought the British rights to the ‘viscose’ process of making rayon and
developed the world’s first commercially successful man-made fibre. Courtauld Mill
announced its closure in 1981, and the buildings have been demolished.
Bradford Mill (TL 76243 24338)
Bradford mill (also known as Fulling Bridge or Cane’s Mill) is a timber-framed and
weather-boarded mill on the River Blackwater at the north-eastern end of Bradford
Street, Bocking. It is Listed as being of eighteenth century date, but may incorporate
parts of the 1580 mill built by the Nottage family who were clothiers..
11

Straits Mill (TL 76997 24331)
Straits or Hobb’s Mill was a water-powered wool fulling mill, with its origins in the late
medieval period, but was rebuilt in 1576. In the eighteenth century it was again rebuilt
as a corn mill, of weatherboarding and brick construction. It was derelict by the early
twentieth century and demolished in the last few years (Brisley, 1992).
Bocking Windmill (TL 76302 25694)
Bocking windmill (ESMR 6231) was first recorded in 1680. It is a weatherboarded,
post mill with sails, tail poles and sack hoist. In 1829 it was sold and in 1830 it was
moved approximately 400m eastwards to its present site. The brick built two-storied
round house being added at this date. It has been renovated and is in local authority
hands.
Breweries, oasthouses and maltings
The early fourteenth century outbuilding 30m to the east of Bocking Hall was converted
to form a maltings or oasthouse in the eighteenth century (ESMR 5140, TL75740
25745). The nineteenth century Bocking Brewery (ESMR 15296, TL76070 24140)
was located on Bradford Street, but only the malthouse of the the brewery complex still
survives and it has been converted into a shop. The Oast, Church Lane (ESMR
15297, TL75960 24410) is a nineteenth century weatherboarded oasthouse now
converted to residential use, the conical kiln is still intact. Peatlings, Bradford Street
and the barn at Resting Seat House, Church Lane are both probable maltings.
SUMMARY OF GENERAL IMPORTANCE OF THE TOWN
HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SUMMARY
Bocking is of importance archaeologically and historically, comprising a late Saxon
settlement and a small medieval and post-medieval cloth-manufacturing town. There is
some evidence for settlement of the Bocking area in the prehistoric and Roman period,
concentrated in the Bradford Street area. Bradford Street itself follows the route of the
Roman road from Chelmsford to Long Melford. In the late tenth century Bocking
belonged to the Saxon thegn Aetheric who bequeathed it to Christchurch at some date
immediately prior to 999, Canterbury held Bocking until the Reformation and still has
the right to grant the Deanery. Medieval Bocking was a bi-focal settlement, based on
Church Street and Bradford Street, linked by Church Lane and the River
Pant/Blackwater. The original focus of settlement was around the existing Late Saxon
church and manorhouse in Bocking Church Street, with Bradford Street developing
later in response to its position on the main road and proximity to Braintree market. In
1304 Flemish weavers arrived in Bocking, this event maybe directly linked with the
construction of the new fulling mill by the Abbot of Canterbury in 1303. By the later
medieval and early post-medieval period Bocking was an important cloth town, by the
early sixteenth century specialising in the manufacture of bays and says. This period
of prosperity is reflected by the development of Bocking Bradford Street. The woollen
cloth industry went into terminal decline in the eighteenth century but the early
nineteenth century saw the rise of the silk industry, with the opening of the Courtauld
factory at Bocking Church Street. In 1939 the parishes of Bocking and Braintree were
united to form a single Urban District.
12

SURVIVAL
There has been only limited fieldwork in Bocking. However the excavated evidence
has revealed that there is surviving cut features and in some areas there is a build-up
of stratigraphy, at its deepest up to 1m. There has been some haphazard localised
quarrying within the urban area, largely dating to the post-medieval period, but these
are small-scale in nature. Waterlogged deposits are known to survive in deeper
features such as wells and cess-pits, and there is a reasonable potential of
waterlogged alluvial deposits close to the River Pant/Blackwater. Soil-conditions are
conducive to the preservation of faunal remains and artefacts such as ceramics,
building materials and metal. Bocking has a reasonable range of medieval and postmedieval
documentary source material for a town of its size and importance. Both
Church Street and Bradford Street retain the appearance of historic streets of
medieval origin, and Bradford Street in particular has very fine examples of late
medieval and early post-medieval urban architecture. Unfortunately the nineteenth
and early twentieth century industrial buildings of the Courtauld Mills complex have
been demolished.
CURRENT PLANNING CONSTRAINTS
Bocking windmill is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 87). The medieval town and
the majority of the post-medieval town is located within the current Conservation
Areas. There are 98 Buildings Listed as being of Architectural or Historical Importance,
of which 17 are Grade II* and the remainder Grade II.
RESEARCH PRIORITIES
The understanding of the development and function of the small medieval and postmedieval
town and the testing of theories on social action, economy, politics etc. have
been highlighted as an important area of study at the national level (English Heritage,
1997; Ayres in Brown and Glazebrook, forthcoming).
The immediate research priorities for the medieval and post-medieval period are:-
• Fieldwork undertaken within Bocking has to date added little to our knowledge of
the medieval town, partly because of lack of development within the historic
area and partly because what development has been undertaken has largely
been in the backlands rather than on the street frontage. Subsequent fieldwork
should need to be targeted to correct this imbalance.
• The period of transition from the late Saxon settlement to the medieval town needs
to be examined.
• Further excavation will be needed before the medieval and post-medieval pottery
evidence can reveal anything about dating, trade and distribution networks and
socio-economic factors. The relationship between Hedingham ware and the
town needs to be examined, as Bocking was one of the nearest consumer sites
for the Hedingham kilns and the evidence for an extended east-west distribution
of pottery types along Stane Street needs to be examined.
• The role of the cloth trade in the development of the town and how it is represented
in the archaeological and historical record is an important area of research and vital
to our understanding of the morphology, economy and social history of Bocking.
13

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrews, D. and 1988 'A timber-framed building at Bocking (nos. 178-196
Watkin, B.,
Church Street)', Essex Archaeol. Hist. 19, 215-222
Brisley, D. 1992 Braintree and Bocking in old picture postcards, Volume
3, European Library - Zaltbommel/Netherlands
Brown, N. and forthcoming Research and Archaeology: A framework for the
Glazebrook, J.
(eds.)
Eastern Counties, 2 research agenda.
Eddy, M.R. and 1983 Historic Towns in Essex: An Archaeological Survey of
Petchey, M.R.
Saxon and Medieval towns, with guidance for their future
planning , Essex County Council
English Heritage 1992 Managing the Urban Archaeological Resource, English
Heritage limited circulation document
English Heritage 1997 English Heritage, Archaeology Division: Research
Agenda (draft) English Heritage limited circulation
document
Hoffmann, A. 1976 Bocking Deanery: The story of an Essex Peculiar,
Phillimore:London and Chichester
Quin, W.F. 1981 A history of Braintree and Bocking, Lavenham Press
Ltd.
Reaney, P.H. 1935 Place-names of Essex, Cambridge
Rumble, A. (ed.) 1983 Domesday Book - Essex, Phillimore:Chichester
14

APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: Documentary sources
Bocking E.R.O. T/A 172 medieval Catalogue of deeds in Westminster abbey
muniments
Bocking E.R.O. T/A 733 medieval Deeds in Huntingdon Library, California.
Bocking P.R.O. E142 46 12 John Extent or Valor of the lands and stock of
Canterbury Cathedral Priory in Bocking
Middleton.
Bocking E.R.O. T/A 262 1300-1485 Transcripts of surveys and rentals and
transcripts of deeds of property of Prior of
Christ Church, Canterbury.
Bocking E.R.O. T/P 116/1/2 1309 Extent of manor of Bocking.
Bocking P.R.O. SC2 123-125 Edw. II - Geo. Books of reliefs and fines for Clare Honor,
III
including Bocking. See P.R.O. List and Index
VI (1896) for full listing.
Bocking E.R.O. T/A 262/9 1382-1417 Extracts from court rolls, manor of Bocking.
Bocking B.L. Add. Ch. 13596 15th cent. Rental of manors.
Bocking B.L. Add. Ch. 64913-65653 1417-1757 Large collection of deeds.
Bocking B.L. Add. Ch. 13551 1455 Foundation of a hospital.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DB M180 1638 Rental of Bocking Hall.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DDw M33-37 1680-1726 Court rolls and rentals, manor of Bocking.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DHh P3 1736 Estate map of Bocking, showing lands E and
NE of 'Bocking street'. Buildings shown
include Doreward's Hall, Bradford's and Gt.
Bradford's, the watermill on the river and 2
arched bridges, drawn in perspective
view.Scale: 20 in. to 1m.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DE M4 1772 Rental of manors of Denwards, Bradford's
Herries.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DO P2A 1803 Book of reference to estate map of Bocking.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DO P2 1803 Estate map of Bocking.(See book of
reference)
Bocking E.R.O. D/F 3/2/1-160. 1809-1947 Records of Bocking factory of Sam.
Courtaulds and Co.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DTa P3 1814 West of parish. Shows Tan office and
Wheelers Yard in Church Street.
Bocking E.R.O. D/CT 39 1838-39 Tithe map. Shows silk-mill. Scale: 26.6 in. to
1m.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DHh M24 1848-1921 Court book, manor of Bocking.
Bocking E.R.O. D/DTa P4 1849 Farms in Bocking (prob. not town).
Bocking E.R.O. D/RBr 1894-1934 Braintree rural district records.
Bocking E.R.O. D/UBb 1934-1974 Braintree and Bocking Urban District records.
Bocking B.L. Harl. 1006 2,13. Manorial extent and customs.
Bocking B.L. Add. MS. 6159, ff. 51,
187b.
n.d. Manorial extent.
Bocking B.L. Add. MS. 6159, ff. 48,
183; 6160,
f.68b.
n.d. Rents of assize and customs.
15

APPENDIX 2: Listed buildings
Serial No. Date Street No. Name Building Type GV Grade Material
2/166 Bradford Street Bawn Cottage N II
5/63 14 Bocking Church Street Church of St Mary the Virgin Parish church Y B Flint & rubble
10/300 15 The Chase Barn at Dorewards Hall Barn N II Timber framed, weatherboarded
5/65 16 Bocking Church Street 47-51 [odd] House Y II Timber framed, plastered
5/83 16 Bocking Church Street Bocking Hall House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
5/187 16 Bocking Church Street Wall to Church of St. Mary the Virgin Wall Y B Flint & rubble, brick
2/4 16 Bradford Street House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/33 16 Bradford Street 89 Maysent House House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
2/11 16 Bradford Street 40, 42 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/18 16 Bradford Street 84-90 [even] House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/35 16 Bradford Street 85, 85a House Y II Timber framed, plastered, brick
plinth
2/48 16 Bradford Street 11 House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
3/23 16 Bradford Street 106 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/46 16 Bradford Street 19, 21, 23 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/26 16 Bradford Street 114-118
House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
[even]
2/40 16 Bradford Street 41 Dragon House House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/36 16 Bradford Street 77-81 [odd] House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
4/56 16 Church Lane 35-39 [odd] House N II* Timber framed, plastered
10/84 16 The Chase, Bocking
Doreward's Hall House N II* Timber framed, plastered
Church Street
2/16 16-17 Bradford Street 54, 56, 56a House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/17 16-17 Bradford Street 68, 68b House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/6 16-17 Bradford Street 10-14 [even] Y II Timber framed, plastered
5/185 16-17 Church Lane 212 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
5/59 17 Bocking Church Street 84, 86 Shop Y II Timber framed, plastered
5/188 17 Bocking Church Street Wall to Bocking Hall Wall Y II Flint, rubble, brick
5/83A 17 Bocking Church Street Farm Buildings to Bocking Hall Farm building Y II Timber framed
10/62 17 Bocking Church Street Windmill Post mill N II Weatherboarded, brick base
16

5/60 17 Bocking Church Street 122-126
[even]
House Y II Timber framed, plastered
5/64 17 Bocking Church Street 43, 45 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
Pebble-dash
5/66 17 Bocking Church Street 53-57[odd] Y II Timber framed, plastered
5/58 17 Bocking Church Street 80, 82 King William Inn Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/29 17 Bradford Street 173 Dial House Inn House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
2/42 17 Bradford Street 37 The Bawn House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/43 17 Bradford Street 31 Old Court Hotel House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/21 17 Bradford Street 102, 104 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/231 17 Bradford Street 29 Clinton Villa House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/51 17 Bradford Street 3 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/49 17 Bradford Street 7, 9 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/34 17 Bradford Street 87 Wentworth House House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
2/45 17 Bradford Street 25 Georgian House House Y II* Timber framed
2/44 17 Bradford Street 27 Beechcroft House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/37 17 Bradford Street 75 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/19 17 Bradford Street 92, 92a, 92b,
92c
Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/172 17 Bradford Street 98, 100 Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/7 17 Bradford Street 16-20 [even] House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/15 17 Bradford Street 52 King's Head Inn Public house Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/54 17 Church Lane Boleyns House N II* Timber framed, plastered
4/184 17 Church Lane 120 The White Cottage House N II Timber framed, plastered
3/179 17 Church Lane 1, 3 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
7/156 17 Coggeshall Road Mark's Farmhouse Farmhouse N II Timber framed, plastered
5/52 17 Deanery Hill The Deanery House N II Timber framed, plastered, brick,
plastered
4/162 17-18 Church Lane 125 Resting Seat House House N II* Timber framed
Brick, pebble-dashed
4/160 17-18 Church Lane 31 The Cottage House N II Timber framed, plastered
2/50 17/18 Bradford Street 5 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/181 17/18 Church Lane 9 House Y II Timber framed, plastered,
weatherboarded
2/166 18 Bawn Close Bawn Cottage House Y II Timber framed, weatherboarded
5/58A 18 Bocking Church Street Cottages at the rear of King William Inn House Y II Timber framed, plastered
17

1/2 18 Bocking End 2 House Y II Brick
3/27 18 Bradford Street Bradford Mill Mill Y II* Timber framed, weatherboarded
3/28 18 Bradford Street Bradford Mill House Mill house Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/41 18 Bradford Street 39 Gresham House House Y II Timber framed, plastered,
pebble-dashed
2/5 18 Bradford Street 4 House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
3/176 18 Bradford Street Outbuildings to Bradford Mill Outbuilding Y II Timber framed, brick,
weatherboarded
2/38 18 Bradford Street 63 - 73 [odd] House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/9 18 Bradford Street Angel Inn House Y II Brick, plastered
3/24 18 Bradford Street 108 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/12 18 Bradford Street 44 Stanford House House Y II Gault brick
2/13 18 Bradford Street 48 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/10 18 Bradford Street 38 House Y II Timber framed, plastered,
pebble dashed
2/14 18 Bradford Street 50 House Y II Brick
2/47 18 Bradford Street 13 Bradford House House Y II* Timber framed, plastered
4/183 18 Church Lane 56 House N II Timber framed, plastered
4/161 18 Church Lane Hill Malthouse Malt house N II* Timber framed, weatherboarded
1/75 18 Rayne Road 6, 8 House Y II Timber frame, plastered
10/165 18 The Chase, Bocking
Serpentine Wall to Doreward's Hall Serpentine wall N II Brick
Church Street
5/195 18-19 Bocking Church Street 94 Rose and Crown Public House Public house Y II Brick
2/8 18-19 Bradford Street 24 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
2/170 18/19 Bradford Street 6, 8 House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/180 18/19 Church Lane 5 House Y II Brick
5/53 18/19 Church Lane 190-210
Workhouse Y II Timber framed, plastered
[even]
3/182 18/19 Church Lane Stable Block + outbuilding to Boleyns Stable N II Brick
5/186 19 Bocking Church Street 7-17 [odd] Almshouse Y II Brick
10/200 19 Bocking Church Street 178 Hill House House N II Brick
10/191 19 Bocking Church Street 257 Harriets Farmhouse Farmhouse N II
1/3 19 Bocking End Congregational Church Church N II Gault brick
1/169 19 Bocking End The Institute & Museum Museum N II Gault brick
2/12 19 Bradford Street 46 House Y II Brick, plastered
18

3/174 19 Bradford Street 83 House Y II* Brick, plastered
3/178 19 Broad Road Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Chapel Y II Brick, stone dressing
3/177 19 Broad Road Franciscan Convent House Y II Timber framed, plastered
3/159 19 Church Lane Bishop Cauden's Hall Y II Brick
10/301 19 Church Street 121-139 [odd] House N II Brick
19

APPENDIX 3: Urban components list
ID DESCRIPTION
MEDIEVAL
955 BUILT-UP AREA
956 PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN
957 CHAPEL OF ST JAMES
958 BOCKING HALL MANORHOUSE
959 DOREWARD'S HALL
960 PUBLIC BUILDINGS
961 CHURCH ALE HOUSE
962 SCHOOL HOUSE
963 PRIEST'S HOUSE
964 DEANERY
965 MAISON DE DIEU/ROYAL ALMSHOUSES
966 GUILD-HALL
967 MILLS
968 PILLORY, WHIPPING-POST AND DUCKING-STOOL
POST-MEDIEVAL
969 BUILT-UP AREA
970 PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN
971 UNITED REFORMED CHURCH (CONGREGATIONAL)
938 FRANCISCAN CONVENT AND CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
972 BOCKING HALL
973 DOREWARD'S HALL
974 DEANERY
975 WORKHOUSE
976 WORKMAN'S HALL
977 VILLAGE HALL AND UNITED SERVCES CLUB
978 BRAINTREE AND BOCKING COTTAGE HOSPITAL
979 ALMSHOUSES
980 COURTAULD'S MILL
981 BRADFORD MILL
982 STRAIT'S MILL
983 BOCKING WINDMILL
984 BREWERIES, OASTHOUSES AND MALTINGS
20