Moat, two fishponds, fishstews and pond bay, west of Balderton Lane

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 moat at Coddington is a very well-preserved example of a waterfilled moat with associated fishponds and other water-management features. It has suffered only minimal disturbance since it was abandoned and so the remains of buildings and ancillary features will survive throughout the platform. In addition, organic remains will be preserved in the moat and in the waterfilled fishpond.

Details

The monument lies south of Coddington village and includes a moat, two fishponds, a group of smaller fishstews or breeding pools, and a pond bay or dam dividing the two larger ponds. The moat has a roughly square platform, measuring approximately 60m along each side, surrounded by a water-filled ditch with a depth of c.2m and an average width of 10m. On the east side, the ditch is crossed by a 4m wide causeway and there is a faint rectangular building platform on the south side of the island. Extending northwards from the north-west corner of the moat, and linked to it by a sluice which would originally have been controlled by a wooden gate, is a roughly rectangular water-filled fishpond. This measures 35m from north to south by 15m from east to west and is divided from a second rectangular pond to the north by a 3m wide pond bay or dam. This pond bay is now grassed over but the stones from which it is constructed can be seen above the water-line of the pond to the south. The pond to the north measures 40m from north to south by 15m east to west and is now dry. At its north end it has been partially filled-in by the modern farm track. To the east are two small fishstews while a further two lie south of the pond bay adjacent to the south pond. The northernmost of the latter fishstews can be seen to have connected at right-angles via a sluice to the north end of the pond, while a similar arrangement may have connected the southernmost of the two northern fishstews to the north pond. The surface of the farm track bisecting the northern part of the north fishpond is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath 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:

23211

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Dickinson, W, History of Newark, (), 47

End of official list entry

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