Restoration of Norfolk hall uncovers Tudor and Elizabethan finds – The Guardian

Everyone imagines that lifting the floorboards of an old house will uncover hidden wonders but perhaps not as plentiful as a page from a 600-year-old illuminated manuscript, hundreds of high-status Elizabethan textiles, fragments of 16th-century handwritten music and an empty box of Terrys chocolates.

The National Trust on Monday revealed remarkable details of one of the largest archaeology hauls ever found under the floors of one of its properties. The stash in the attics of Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, which dates back to 1482, has astonished the team working on the project.

Thousands of objects have been found casting fresh light on the history of the houses owners, the Bedingfield family devout Catholics whose history includes periods of persecution.

The finds were made because the house is undergoing essential roof restoration work. The intention was that a team of volunteers would be on hand as floorboards were lifted to repair joists but because of lockdown, Matt Champion, a freelance archaeologist, has been working solo.

Anna Forest, the National Trust curator overseeing the work, said: As the floor boards have been lifted, Matt has been doing a fingertip search of all the dust and crud underneath those boards.

Youd expect to find things like cigarette packets and coins and scraps of newspaper but he began to discover a treasure trove of extraordinary, very early things.

One was a rats nest made up of more than 200 pieces of historic textiles, including silks, satin, leather, velvet, wool and examples of embroidery which date from the Tudor, Elizabethan and early Georgian periods.

Forrest said: Because they were beneath the floor, out of the sun for centuries they are in incredible condition.

Also in the rats nests were scraps of handwritten music dating from the 16th century.

One of the star finds has been a page from a late 15th-century illuminated manuscript, still with the glimmer of gold leaf and bright blue. It is just the most exquisite thing and to have found it literally in a pile of rubble is probably well, its unheard of for the National Trust, thats for sure.

Two weeks ago an intact book of psalms with an embossed leather cover was found, dating from 1568. Again, it was just a knocks-your-socks-off find, said Forest.

There are also far more mundane discoveries such as a box of Terrys chocolates dating from the second world war. The wrappers and tissue paper remain but not the chocolates suggesting it was hastily hidden by someone with a guilty conscience.

There are also lots of old newspapers, crisp packets, cigarette packets and ping-pong balls, suggesting there was once a table tennis table in the attic rooms.

Oxburgh Hall was built by Sir Edmund Bedingfield in the late 15th century. The Bedingfields were once rising stars at the Tudor royal court but they were also devoutly Catholic and were ostracised and persecuted as a result.

Curators believe the manuscript parchment and other objects may well have been used in illegal masses and hidden deliberately by the family.

Russell Clement, general manager at Oxburgh Hall, said the finds were far beyond anything they expected.

He said: These objects contain so many clues which confirm the history of the house as the retreat of a devout Catholic family who retained their faith across the centuries.

This is a building which is giving up its secrets slowly. We dont know what else we might come across or what might remain hidden for future generations to reveal.

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Restoration of Norfolk hall uncovers Tudor and Elizabethan finds - The Guardian