Monument record HTC 026 - The Hobbets (site of)

The Hobbets: remains of small moated enclosures. The Tithe Map of 1839 shows a small irregular moated enclosure containing a house, this had an entrance causeway on the E side; to the N of this were the remains (principally the N & E sides) of a slightly larger moated enclosure, then used as an orchard. To the E of these was a barn and several ponds. Most of the site has now disappeared under a recently constructed large pond with embanked sides. Parts of the eastern and southern sides of the site still survive under scrub vegetation and trees. Referred to as Hobbyes tenement in the C17. It does not appear to have been a copyhold tenement of the manor of Hitcham and may have been freehold (S1).

July 2010: Test trenching on the site of this moated farmstead revealed medieval pottery, oyster shells and a possible cobbled yard. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2010 (S2). Full report to follow.

Several joining pieces of the upper part of a glazed Grimston-type ware face jug, 13th or 14th century (S3). Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2012 (S4).

2010 - Investigations took place on an isolated, wooded site east of Dale Farm named the Hobbets, in an attempt to trace its origins. Research revealed details of a former 19th century dwelling withing a moated enclosure, and finds of medieval pottery sherds, oyster shell and a possible cobbled yard from test trenching appear to suggest evidence for an earlier building (S5).