Hayton Castle 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.

Hayton Castle is a well-preserved example of a medieval moat which may have been the site of a fortified manor house. Although the moat itself has suffered some disturbance, the platform survives intact and will retain the buried remains of medieval buildings and structures. The adjacent fishpond is also well preserved.

Details

The monument includes Hayton Castle moated site and the adjacent fishpond. The site includes a roughly square platform, measuring approximately 60m on each side, surrounded on three sides by a 15m wide moat with an average depth of 1m. The moat no longer survives on the remaining north side where it has been ploughed away and recut to create a dyke. On the west side of the moat, divided from it by a 10m wide bank, is a rectangular fishpond measuring c.12m from east to west by 50m from north to south. Again the north end of this feature has been truncated by the modern dyke and field boundary. Traces of grassed-over wall footings can be seen at the south-west corner of the island. The existence of this wall may account for the name Hayton Castle which indicates that, in the medieval period, the site was fortified, probably by a crenellated wall. The site is understood to have belonged to the de Hayton family. All the modern fencing, the surface of the farm track along the east side of the monument and the trail sign and leaflet box at the entrance onto the platform are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath these features 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:

23218

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
MacKenzie, D, Castles of England, (1897), 449

End of official list entry

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