Lower Booth moated site and deserted medieval village

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 seigniorial 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 village, comprising a small group of houses, gardens, yards, streets, paddocks often with a green, manor and a church, was a significant component of the rural landscape in most areas of medieval England, much as it is today. Villages provided some services to the local community and acted as the main focal point of ecclesiastical, and often of manorial, administration within each parish. Many villages declined in size or were abandoned throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. The reason for desertion were varied but often reflected declining economic viability, changes in land use such as enclosure or emparkment,or populations fluctuations as a result of widespread epidemics such as the Black Death. As a consequence of their abandonment these villages are frequently undisturbed by later occupation and contain well-preserved archaeological deposits. The monument at Lower Booth survives reasonably well and is a rare example in Staffordshire of a juxtaposed moated site and deserted medieval village. The monument remains largely unencumbered by modern development and the moated site is known to retain structural foundations associated with the building that originally occupied it. Additionally organic material will be preserved in the waterlogged moat. The deserted medieval village will contain remains of house plots and field and property boundaries, thus affording an opportunity for interpreting the function of the buildings and the arrangement of the settlement. The site will possess evidence of the original land surface beneath the structural features and survival of environmental evidence in the fills of pits, ditches, postholes and beam slots. Earthworks associated with the 14th century oratory survive well.

Details

The monument includes Lower Booth moated site and deserted medieval village. It is divided into two separate areas by a deep ditch which is not part of the scheduling. The moated site includes a platform upon which stands the 15th century Lower Booth farmhouse. Building foundations associated with an earlier structure are known to lie beneath the present house. A partially infilled waterlogged moat, now reduced to 4m wide and 2m deep exists on the east, south and southern half of the west sides of the platform, but has been completely infilled elsewhere. A dry outlet channel issues from the moat's eastern arm and an outer bank up to 14m wide flanks the eastern arm. South- east and east of the moated site are the earthworks of a deserted medieval village. To the south-east these earthworks consist of a hollow way flanked on either side by raised platforms identifying the tofts and crofts of the inhabitants. There is also a rectangular platform measuring 17m by 15m cut into the hillslope west of the hollow way. East of the moated site is a rectangular earthwork measuring 25m by 15m that is considered to be the site of an oratory mentioned in documentary sources of 1368. A raised causeway 5m wide and 0.2m high runs from the north towards the oratory. Ridge and furrow lies west of this causeway. Other earthwork features include shallow dry ponds, a ditch and a waterlogged pond. The earliest mention of Lower Booth, then called Bold, is 1175-1176. In 1368 Richard de La Bolde was granted a licence from the Bishop of Lichfield for an oratory. The oratory was depicted on 17th century maps which also show a bridge across the moat's now infilled northern arm. Lower Booth farmhouse is a Listed Building Grade II*. Lower Booth farmhouse, a septic tank, and all service pipes, fences, telegraph poles and field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all 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:

22440

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hist Coll Staffs in Hist Coll Staffs, Vol. 1, ()

Other
To Robinson, K.D. MPPFW, To Robinson, K.D., MPPFW, Mrs Simpson (Site Owner), (1991)
Darvill, T., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Moats, (1988)
DOE, List of Buildings of Historic & Architectural Interest,
Pagination 44, Hist Coll Staffs (N.S. No. VIII), Hist Coll Staffs (N.S.),

End of official list entry

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