Earthwork enclosure 330yds (300m) SW of Three Horse Shoes Inn

Summary

An enclosure 200m south east of South Duryard Farm.

Reasons for Designation

Around 6,000 moated sites are known in England. They consist of wide ditches, often or seasonally water-filled, partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground on which stood domestic or religious buildings. In some cases the islands were used for horticulture. The majority of moated sites served as prestigious aristocratic and seigneurial residences with the provision of a moat intended as a status symbol rather than a practical military defence. The peak period during which moated sites were built was between about 1250 and 1350 and by far the greatest concentration lies in central and eastern parts of England. However, moated sites were built throughout the medieval period, are widely scattered throughout England and exhibit a high level of diversity in their forms and sizes. They form a significant class of medieval monument and are important for the understanding of the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside. Many examples provide conditions favourable to the survival of organic remains.

The enclosure 200m south east of South Duryard Farm is most likely to be a moated site, visible on aerial photographs. It will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, date, function, abandonment, social organisation and landscape context.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 17 November 2015. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes an enclosure situated immediately north of the Star Barton Brook in its steep valley. The monument survives as a rectangular enclosure with rounded corners formed on three sides by a 2m wide ditch flanked by both inner and outer banks both of approximately 4m wide and by a single bank and the brook to the fourth side. These form an enclosure measuring approximately 70m long by 50m wide overall, with all deposits and structures preserved as buried features. The exact date and function of the enclosure is unknown, but it has been interpreted as a medieval moated site.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

DV 954

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-448222

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