HEDSOR WHARF
Location/Address
None recorded
Type
Other site, structure or landscape
Assets that cannot fit any of the other categories. This category includes sites of archaeological interest, where the original form and function may not be apparent without the use of archaeological techniques and interpretation.Description
Two wharves at Hedsor in the sixteenth century, combined in 1579, disused after 1830.
IN 1556 2 WHARVES. C.1570 THOS SAUNDERS TOOK OVER NEW WHARF & A HOUSE THEREON LATELY BUILDED CALLED SAUNDERS WHARF. BRICK FOUNDATIONS OF THIS C16 BLDG STILL STAND NEAR WHARF HOUSE. BOTH WHARVES COMBINED 1579. NEW LOCK & CUT, 1830 ENDED WHARF'S COMMERCIAL LIFE (B1-3, B5). USED FOR SHIPPING TILES, POTS ETC (B4, B6)
In 1556, Sir Edmund Peckham sold Hedsor Manor to Ralph Hawtry with the exception of 'one wharf' which was sold to Richard Over. Ralph Hawtrey sold the manor to Rowland Hyde in 1573 and the deed cites a lease by Ralph Hawtrey to Thomas Saunders of a wharf called 'New Wharf' with 'a house thereon lately built'. The new wharf subsequently became known as Saunders Wharf. In 1579, Saunders Wharf also was sold to Richard Over. George Ives, Lord Boston, compiled the later history of the wharf and houses after suceeding to the ownership in 1856. A watercolour of 1812 shows that the original house had been converted to a stables and outhouses and the brewhouse converted to servants halls. In 1895-6 extensive alterations were carried out. In advance of the demolition of buildings at Hedsor Wharf to build a new house, a desk based assessment was carried out. The earliest brick structure (E-W) of the building was thought to be possibly earlier than the 18th century date given by Pevsner, however it was found that Lord Boston had further extensively remodelled the house after 1925 and that the house had been enlarged and remodelled again in 1969-71. Saunders Wharf, a seperate building on the site had been in use as a guesthouse but had been largely gutted (B7).
Samples, test pits and trenches were dug and revealed background prehistoric activity. The presence of middle Saxon pottery indicated settlement activity in the 11th-12th century. Dumped deposits were noted, possibly a backfilling of the hollow way during re-landscaping of the gardens during the house's original construction (B8).
Statement of Significance
Asset type
Two wharves at Hedsor in the sixteenth century, combined in 1579, disused after 1830.
Date Listed
n/a