Moated site and associated earthworks at Baysgarth Farm

Overview

Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument

List Entry Number: 1007813

Date first listed: 12-Jan-1994

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

National Grid Reference: TA 14174 18847

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 moated site at Baysgarth Farm survives reasonably well. Structural and artefactual evidence will be preserved on the island and organic material will be preserved within the silted moat. Additionally the main moat is surrounded by a complex of other earthwork remains, including a second moated enclosure. Together these associated remains will contribute to an understanding of the nature and history of use of the main moated site.

Details

The monument is the moated site at Baysgarth Farm. It includes a large sub- rectangular moated site, a second smaller moated enclosure, and other associated earthwork features. The island defined by the main moat measures 150m north-south and 80m east- west. The surrounding moat, which is now dry, is 10m wide and 2m deep. An external earthen bank 0.5m high and 5m wide encloses the moat. Two fishponds extend into the island of the site; one on the western side of the site, the other on the northern side. Both are connected to the adjacent moat by well- preserved sluices. A group of buildings originally stood in the south-eastern quadrant of the island, their former existence indicated by a range of earthwork features in this area. A channel 20m wide and 2m deep runs eastward from the moat's eastward arm. This feature is not included in the scheduling as its date and function is not yet fully understood. To the immediate north of the large moated site are several building platforms, the stances for medieval houses, and associated earthworks. To the west of the large moat is a secondary moated enclosure. The island within this second moat measures 60m north-south by 50m east-west. The western arm of the surrounding moat has been destroyed by the excavation of drains along the adjacent roadside. Elsewhere the moat has mostly been in-filled, but where it remains visible as an earthwork feature it is between 7m and 10m wide and up to 1m deep. To the north of this second moated site is an area of ridge and furrow cultivation. Ridge and furrow also survives to the east of the main moat, although here it does not survive well and is not included in the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number: 21185

Legacy System: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Dennison, E, 'Medieval Settlement Research Group' in Baysgarth Farm, East Halton, , Vol. 4, (1989), 30
Other
CUC AQU 40, Cambridge University,

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.