Moated grange at Stoughton

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.

The moated grange site at Stoughton survives in good condition and has considerable potential for retaining the remains of building foundations and other occupation evidence within its interior.

Details

The moated grange at Stoughton is situated adjacent to the church on the eastern outskirts of Leicester. The moated area is rectangular and measures 125 x 110m in overall dimensions. Most of the eastern arm visibly survives and is dry, measuring 18m wide and up to 2m deep, with an entrance causeway 50m north of the south-eastern corner. The southern arm is 8m wide and less than 0.5m in depth. Most of the northern and western arms are infilled but a 30m stretch in the north-west corner and a further length of the northern arm are water-filled and measure 10m wide and about 2m deep with an outer bank. The grange site was owned by Leicester Abbey in the early medieval period. The grange appears to have moved to the south-west of the parish in the late 15th century and this site was abandoned.

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:

17056

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Leicestershire SMR, (1987)

End of official list entry

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