Nether Hall moated site and fishpond

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 Nether Hall survives reasonably well and is historically well-documented. The main island remains unencumbered by modern development and hence will retain evidence of the buildings which originally occupied it. Organic and environmental remains will be preserved in the moats and fishpond.

Details

The monument is the moated site at Nether Hall. It includes a triangular island enclosed within a dry moat and a fishpond which lies outside the main moat and adjacent to its south western arm. The triangular island measures 130m long, south east to north west, and is 70m broad at its broadest point. The moat which encloses this island ranges between 10m and 13m wide and is up to 2m deep; it is now dry. The northern arm of the moat has been partially reused to create a ha-ha or sunken fence. To create this the moat was partially revetted with brick along this arm. The eastern arm of the moat is flanked by both internal and external banks, each 1m high and 5m wide. A fishpond, now dry, lies outside but parallel to the moat's south western arm. It is 22m long, 5m wide and 1m deep. Originally a second moated enclosure lay immediately to the north west of the triangular island; only a fragment of this now survives, the remainder having been in-filled and disturbed by building and landscaping work further north. This second moated site is not included in the scheduling. The site was a manor house of the Constable family who held land owned by the Percy earls. Manorial rights were granted to Constable when the Percy lands passed to the crown in 1537, though in 1546 Sir Marmaduke Constable returned them to the monarch. In 1775 a plan showed the monument with two buildings on it, though by 1850, when the 1850 Ordnance Survey map was drawn, these buildings had either fallen down or been removed. A sewer pipe which has been laid across the site from east to west is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

21191

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Yorkshire, (1974), 287
Le Patourel, H E J, Moated site of Yorkshire, (1973), 115

End of official list entry

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