Museums

The stained glass in the Great Hall was thought originally to have come from the manor house at Great Billing, but this has been refuted by manuscript evidence.

The study of heraldry pictured within the glass connects it to the Bernard family who built this Great Hall. This further implies it is most likely contemporary with the building, dating from the late fifteenth century.

The coats of the arms in the window from left to right:

• The arms of Lancaster – the Bernard family claimed descent from Edmund, Earl of Lancaster (d.1296) through the marriage of John Bernard (d.1485) with Margaret Scrope.
• The Royal Arms of England for Richard, Duke of York (d.1460). Margaret Bernard’s (nee Scrope) paternal grandmother was half-sister to Richard’s wife, Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV and Richard III.
• Royal Arms of England, quartered England and France.
• Royal Arms of England, quartered England and France, with a label of three points for the Prince of Wales.

Centre of life at Abington Manor

Used by the family for eating, meeting people, and most other day time activity, the hall would have been the centre of life at Abington Manor. The impressive ceiling would have enabled the family to show off their status to guests. To the east there would have been a continuous service range probably with a buttery and pantry. The kitchens would have been apart from the main building and food served through one of the doors in the north wall.