Bagot's Bromley moated manorial enclosure

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 monument survives well and remains largely unencumbered by modern development. Limited excavation on the island has revealed artefacts and structural remains dating from the 12th-18th centuries and further evidence of the medieval buildings will exist. Additionally organic material will be preserved within the waterlogged moat and fishpond.

Details

The monument is Bagot's Bromley medieval moated manorial enclosure. The site includes an island measuring some 160m by 90m upon which lies a rectangular building platform measuring 32m by 20m and 0.6m high. The island is surrounded along much of its northern side and the northern half of its eastern side by a waterlogged moat up to 9m wide and 1m deep. The moat has been infilled for the remainder of its circumference but has been recut and remains waterlogged along the eastern half of its southern arm and the southern half of its eastern arm. The northern arm is flanked along its full length by an inner bank 8m wide and 0.3m high, and along its western half by an outer bank 6m wide by 1m high. A sub-rectangular waterlogged fishpond measuring 19m by 11m and 1.5m deep is situated in the southeast corner of the island. A low bank flanks its southern side and a short waterlogged channel 1m wide connects the pond with the recut moat. Bagot's Bromley has been identified as the knight's fee held by William Bagot in 1166. In the second half of the 14th century the Bagot Bromley branch of the Bagot family moved to Blithfield resulting in a decline in status of the manorial buildings at Bagot's Bromley. An estate survey of 1724 shows three buildings grouped around a courtyard close to the fishpond. Today the Bagot Monument, recording the demolition of these buildings in 1811 and the subsequent discovery of remains of the original mansion, is situated upon the island. A contemporary drawing of this demolition work depicts architectural details consistent with a building dating between 1250 and 1350. Limited excavation of the island in 1981 revealed medieval pottery datable to the 12th-15th centuries, brick paving, sandstone and/or brick walls, and post holes. The moat's infilled western arm was investigated and found to have originally been 8m wide and 0.9m deep. The Bagot Monument, all field boundaries, walls, gateposts and telegraph poles are excluded from the scheduling. The ground beneath these features, however, 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:

13512

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Andrews, D, A Manorial Enclosure at Bagot's Bromley, Staffordshire, (1983)
Wrottesley, G, Collections for a History of Staffordshire N.S. in A History of the Family of Bagot, Vol. XI, (1908)

Other
Title: Survey of farms and lands in possession of W Wagstaffe Bagot Source Date: 1724 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: D3259/additional 1 (Staffs Rec Off)
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Moats, (1989)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry