Hall Garths, Hook

This summary of the first year of our Hook project was written by Community Archaeologist, Jon Kenny.

"This last summer we undertook an enjoyable project working with Howdenshire Archaeological Society. I say we because Liz my wife has now started to work with 'Jon Kenny – community archaeology' as my admin assistant. The Hook Manor project was a chance for Liz to put her health contacts to good use developing a project in liaison with SMILE HEY foundation, basically money from the Green Social Prescribing fund. This meant that we actually paid more interest in the social wellbeing aspects of community archaeology. I think that we are all aware that doing community archaeology is great not just for discovering the past, but also for our personal and group wellbeing. We do it because it makes us feel good!

Our project focussed on the role of the moated site in the medieval township of Hook, just north of Goole. Well in fact, as we soon learned, Goole actually grew in the township of Hook. We put together a team of volunteers, about 15 regulars which was split between HAS members and locals from Hook. We ran workshops and a tour around Hook that helped us get to know each other and we learned about the history of Hook and archaeological methods that use geophysical survey and landscape survey to understand the archaeology.

Our workshops were held in St Mary's Church, Hook

We worked most Monday mornings through the summer and really showed how standing around working in a field in lovely summer weather can help us learn and feel better.

Our results gave us a better idea of what could be found on the moat platforms (3 of them), mostly modern dumping to be fair, but hints of underlying buildings! Also, the landscape survey allowed us to suggest a 2, 3 or even 4 phase development of the site.

OS maps showing the moat and platforms.

In addition, we were able to propose a system whereby the drainage of the landscape could take water either into the moat or away from it depending on the weather and state of the nearby river.

I am in the process of writing up the project so far and we have applied for funding to excavate evaluation trenches to try to see where buildings may have been on the platforms and better understand our interpretations of the site, location of house and garth, and whether there was a garden on the west side. Then we will just need the vital Scheduled Monument Consent!

All in all a fascinating project, meeting lots of really friendly new people, that we hope is ongoing. It certainly showed me just how archaeology benefits all our wellbeing!" Jon Kenny, Community Archaeologist

Recently published on the Facebook page of East Riding Archives - and particularly appropriate to our Hook project! - this beautiful medieval document dating from c.1200 represents a gift of land from Aschetin, the Lord of the Manor of Hook, to the monks of Louth in Lincolnshire. Among the witnesses was Roger of Howden, a chronicler who accompanied King Richard I on the Third Crusade.

Further information may be found in the catalogue entry: https://orlo.uk/lZBQt