HER 566 - Site of Oatlands Palace 1537/38-1650, Weybridge

Scheduled Monument
Oatlands was built by Henry VIII as a royal palace in 1537/38 and it remained thus until the Commonwealth when it was nearly destroyed in 1650. No trace of the palace now remains but it is considered from early prints and other sources to have stood at approximately TQ 0771 6526. The site is now occupied by a deserted farm and a housing estate. To the south-east (centred at TQ 0787 6515) forming part of the present property boundaries is the high, brick kitchen garden wall of 17th century date. This is heavily buttressed and containing a number of blocked doorways. A blocked gateway at the south end of Gate Road has a four centred arch and two iron door hinges.. Excavations began circa 1968and discovered the north-east triangular end of the palace, surrounded by a moat. Delft, Bellamine and clay pipes were found in a garderobe pit in a hexagonal tower by the inner gateway. The area, location and orientation of Oatlands Palace was confirmed, and foundations of a 15th century house which was utilised as the innermost court of the Palace after 1538 was uncovered. Pottery of 15th, 16th and 17th century date is on display in Weybridge Museum. Subsequent excavations by SCAU discovered the stables area and the outside of the northern inner courtyard wall with garderobe pits and chimney breasts. A new building with two polygonal and two rectangular rooms were also discovered. It may have been a Henrician period banqueting house.

Data represented on the interactive map is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features. Further information

• View this record on Surrey's Interactive Map
• View the National Monument Record for this site.

Related Records

• SHHER_569
• SHHER_4515
• SHHER_4732
• SHHER_4732
• SHHER_5595
• SHHER_15248
• SHHER_16103

Archaeological History

Activity	Person & Organisation	Dates
watching brief	Poulton, R SCAU	2006-07-04
Description An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in June 2006 at Nurses Cottage, Old Palace Road, Weybridge, in fulfilment of a condition attached to the grant of Scheduled Monument Consent and the grant of planning permission, for extensions to the present building. It revealed that the area has seen a considerable (over 1m) build up in level since the demolition of the Palace in 1650. At the base of the build up and directly overlying undisturbed alluvial sand, was a layer representing debris from the Palace demolition. It is unclear what this implies with regard to the location of the present site in relation to the Palace. Location Surrey, Elmbridge, Weybridge, Grid Reference TQ 078 651 Associated Sources Title Author Type More info Produced by SCAU Poulton, R document more... Reference Archaeological watching brief at Nurses Cottage, Old Palace Road, Weybridge Reference 04/06/06 Reference An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in June 2006 at Nurses Cottage, Old Palace Road, Weybridge, in fulfilment of a condition attached to the grant of Scheduled Monument Consent and the grant of planning permission, for extensions to the present building. It revealed that the area has seen a considerable (over 1m) build up in level since the demolition of the Palace in 1650. At the base of the build up and directly overlying undisturbed alluvial sand, was a layer representing debris from the Palace demolition. It is unclear what this implies with regard to the location of the present site in relation to the Palace. Holding Location Surrey HER 1 part

The online HER is not suitable for commercial use, as some information has been withheld from online publication for reasons of confidentiality or protection of sensitive sites. Further Information.
The inclusion of a site in the database in no way implies that public access is available. The vast majority of sites (including Scheduled Monuments) and buildings are on private land and have no public access. Further Information.

Have your say