Moated site at Tilton

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 site at Tilton is one of a number of well-preserved medieval moats in Leicestershire. The island is essentially undisturbed and retains evidence of the original buildings, while the moat arms provide ideal conditions for the preservation of organic materials, such as wood.

Details

The moated site at Tilton lies three hundred metres south east of the village and alongside Loddington Road. The moat is 60m square in maximum dimension and has three visible moat arms, the northern arm being infilled. The southern and western arms are 12m wide and about 2m deep, while that on the eastern side has been enlarged to make a pond approximately 15m wide. The island contains a very prominent building platform 9 x 11m which has surviving stone foundations up to 0.75m high and covered in turf. There are signs of a causeway on the north-west side, and stone rubble in the western arm of the moat may relate to this feature or the buildings on the island. A carved wooden object, identified as a sluice block, has been recovered from the waterlogged moat deposits and seems to have been part of a mechanism for controlling water levels within the moat.

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:

17014

Legacy System:

RSM

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