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.
Details
The monument is the moated site known as Cleaving Hall which lies north of
Cleaving Grange. It includes a single moated site and the infilled remains of
further ditched enclosures which extend from it to both the east and west of
the moat.
The central island of the moated site is 40m long, north-south, and 30m wide,
east-west. The moat which encloses it is 10m wide. The northern and eastern
arms are 2m deep; the western and southern arms are more heavily silted and
are only 1m deep.
A fishpond was constructed on the island at its southern end and remains as a
visible earthwork 14m long, east-west, and 8m wide; it is up to 0.75m deep and
is connected to the moat at its western end by a short, silted channel. A
further possible fishpond may also have existed to the west of the main moat.
This is visible only as a slight hollow in the ground surface.
A single rectangular ditched enclosure extends to the east of the main moat
and two others lie to the west. The ditches which enclose these have been in-
filled but are clearly visible on aerial photographs of the site.
Infilling occurred before 1930, but the ditches are shown as earthworks on
19th century maps of the area. Two concrete tanks have been dug into the
south-eastern corner of the extant moat. They were constructed in the early
1930's to manage the spring which rises here.
The monument is believed to have been a manor of the Knights Hospitallers, and
may have been built on the site of an earlier settlement in the area which
appears in Domesday Book.
The concrete tanks are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath them is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21194
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
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 Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
