'Lost' medieval manor house found in Leicestershire

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-23608945

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A medieval manor house in a Leicestershire village, which "disappeared" for three centuries, has been found by archaeologists.

The house, in Croxton Kerrial, near the Lincolnshire border, was last recorded in the 16th Century and had disappeared from maps by the 1790s.

It was discovered by a community archaeology group, working with the county council, using geophysical techniques to probe the ground.

The house dates from the 12th Century.

'Roman pottery'

Tony Connolly is the chairman of the Framland Local Archaeology Group, which made the discovery.

Mr Connolly, who lives in the village, said: "The house was given to Croxton Abbey in the 14th Century but our records show it was uninhabitable by the 16th Century.

"After that, it disappeared. A lot of people in the village had heard about it but nobody knew where it was.

"By the 1800s the site was just a field with sheep in it, which is what it is today."

Working with an archaeologist from Leicestershire County Council, the group used electrical probes to send currents into Pinfold Field, near the village church, which they believed was a probable site.

They were able to generate computer images of what lay beneath the ground.

"We have now exposed the great hall and the garderobe - that's the medieval toilet - and we are excavating the kitchen at the moment," said Mr Connolly.

"We believe there are stables and a tithe barn still to excavate.

"We have found lots of medieval property and two pieces of Roman pottery."

Once the work is completed, the group will backfill the site and the records will go into the council archives.