Monument record WTM 008 - Croft Mead "Southmore" (Med)

1955: possible site of Church of St. Thomas, Wortham Everard. Clay foundations for walls revealed in pipeline trenching. Reported by Ipswich Museum (S3). Possibly one of two churches listed in Wortham in 1086 (with WTM 011). Note: Ecclesiastical parishes of Wortham Everard and Wortham Jarvis were consolidated in 1789 (S5).
Large multi period site on field known as Croft Mead lying between Honeypot Farm and Beans Lane to E, revealed during pipelaying in 1955 and excavated by Basil Brown. Med building debris, walls and pillar bases found on westerly side of field all overlying Rom and Prehistoric remains. Bricks found on surface of site seem to have come from an early Med (??) building and this seems to have been partly included in a later (Brown says Tudor) building 142 feet x 64 feet approximately, with line of pillar bases on west, surrounding a courtyard and enclosed by a moat.
The earlier building foundations were made of clay with some walling and were thought to have been the remains of the church of Wortham Everard, one of two churches in Wortham parish, located in the village of Southmore (hence Brown's alluding to the site as Southmore). A tooled stone described as Norman by Brown was found here and appeared to be part of a window or door surround. Some sherds of C13 pottery were amongst a large amount of pottery found dating from C15-C17.
Within the later moated site, substantial wall footings were excavated including stone steps leading down to the moat which was over 6 feet deep. Pottery in this area was C16-C17 and finds included stratified Charles II halfpenny, an iron arrowhead, iron punch, spur, large iron buckle or jews harp and fragment of bottle stamp. Small red floor tiles and window glass fragments also found (S1,S2,S3,S4)(R1).
Note: if Brown is correct with his identification of a ?Tudor significant building within a moat on this site it is unlikely to have been built on a church site (where one would have also expected burials) so the suggestion that this represents the site of the church of St Thomas must remain dubious. It is more likely the earlier building remains were from an immediate predecessor to the ?Tudor structure which was effectively a rebuild/upgrade (CP, Sept 2013).
Grid reference in PSIA TM 089 785 (S4)(also HERd in error as WTM 036) not correct as all other relevant data confirms TM 0873 7718.
Also Preh and Rom finds.

Site of Southmore Village, late Saxon or early Medieval. Continuous with foundations to Stuart period. Earthworks. Nothing visible on available Aps and no features visible on the ground (S5-7).