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 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.
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
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
