Chamberlain's Moat.

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.

Chamberlain's Moat is of unusually large size. It is well preserved and has the potential for organic and palaeoenvironmental deposits in both the moat itself and the fishponds.

Details

Chamberlain's Moat is situated on a south-west facing slope north of Brent Pelham. It is a large rectangular shaped moated site orientated north-east/ south-west and measuring c.130m long and c.90m wide. The south-east side of the moat abuts the Roman road, which is also on the line of the modern road, and there is no trace of the moat arm on this side. The other three arms are seasonally waterlogged. The south-western and north-western arms are c.10m wide, the north-eastern arm, however, is only 5m wide at its widest point. They are all c.3m deep. Part of the north-west arm has been filled in to form a causeway since the Ordnance Survey mapping of the site in 1912. There is a prominent internal retaining bank at the north end of the moat measuring c.5m wide and c.0.5m high. There are two fishponds on the island: the first measures 30m by 10m and is orientated north-west - south-east; the second is orientated north-east/ south-west and measures c.10m by c.5m. They are both waterfilled.

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:

20604

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SMR No: 070250, Information from SMR,

End of official list entry

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