Moated site at Jarman Farm

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 is the only known example of a circular medieval moated site in Cheshire. Despite the loss of the monument's extreme north-eastern edge the site survives well, is unexcavated and remains unencumbered by modern development. It will therefore retain considerable evidence of its original form and the activities which occurred on the island.

Details

The monument is the medieval moated site at Jarman Farm. The site includes all but the extreme north-eastern edge of a raised circular island some 33m in diameter that is surrounded on all sides except the northeast by a dry ditch c.13m wide and up to 2m deep. Flanking this ditch is an outer bank 7m wide and 0.3m high. Traces of an outer ditch 2.5m wide by 0.2m deep exist on the western side of the outer bank. Rubble and some dressed stones protrude from the ground in places on the island's scarp and on the outer bank. The name Jarman was previously Garman and Germans, and derives from the Germyn family who are well recorded in local 16th century documents. All field boundaries, gateposts and field drains are excluded from the scheduling. The ground beneath all these features, however, is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

13514

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Mrs Bullock (Site owner), (1991)
Oral report to R. Turner SMR, (1988)
SMR No. 2153, Cheshire SMR, Jarman Farm, (1988)
Pagination 5, Darvill, T., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Moats, (1988)

End of official list entry

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