Bromfield moated grange

Reasons for Designation

A monastic grange was a farm owned and run by a monastic community and independent of the secular manorial system of communal agriculture and servile labour. The function of granges was to provide food and raw materials for consumption within the parent monastic house itself, and also to provide surpluses for sale for profit. The first monastic granges appeared in the 12th century but they continued to be constructed and used until the Dissolution. This system of agriculture was pioneered by the Cistercian order but was soon imitated by other orders. Some granges were worked by resident lay-brothers (secular workers) of the order but others were staffed by non-resident labourers. The majority of granges practised a mixed economy but some were specialist in their function. Five types of grange are known: agrarian farms, bercaries (sheep farms), vaccaries (cattle ranches), horse studs and industrial complexes. A monastery might have more than one grange and the wealthiest houses had many. Frequently a grange was established on lands immediately adjacent to the monastery, this being known as the home grange. Other granges, however, could be found wherever the monastic site held lands. On occasion these could be located at some considerable distance from the parent monastery. Granges are broadly comparable with contemporary secular farms although the wealth of the parent house was frequently reflected in the size of the grange and the layout and architectural embellishment of the buildings. Additionally, because of their monastic connection, granges tend to be much better documented than their secular counterparts. No region was without monastic granges. The exact number of sites which originally existed is not precisely known but can be estimated, on the basis of numbers of monastic sites, at several thousand. Of these, however, only a small percentage can be accurately located on the ground today. Of this group of identifiable sites, continued intensive use of many has destroyed much of the evidence of archaeological remains. In view of the importance of granges to medieval rural and monastic life, all sites exhibiting good archaeological survival are identified as nationally important.

Bromfield moated grange is associated with a nearby well known priory site. The moat is well preserved and will retain archaeological evidence of the grange buildings in the interior.

Details

The moated grange at Bromfield is located on the south-western side of the village. The monument has a moat island which is 50m square and about one metre higher than the land around the site. The island is surrounded by a ditch 2m to 3m deep and 4m wide. The ditch is partially water-filled and is fed by springs located at the south-eastern and south-western corners of the moat. Remains of a stone building are exposed on the north side of the island where a low stone wall, 0.5m high and 2.5m long with a small buttress, can be seen. A raised platform, on the northern side of the moat island and immediately south of the exposed stonework, indicates the position of former buildings. Disturbed stonework on the northern outer bank can also be seen and may be the site of an access point to the interior of the site. The moat lies 250m to the west of the church of the former Benedictine Priory at Bromfield which was associated with St Peter's Abbey at Gloucester. The Priory is documented from the 12th century to the Dissolution in 1537. It is considered that the moated site was the location of a homestead farm or grange associated with the Priory.

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:

13680

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Shropshire: Volume II, (1973)

End of official list entry

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