Two moated sites at Healing Hall

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.

Despite partial in-filling of the ditches of the larger moated site and some disturbance from building and landscaping, archaeological remains of the buildings which formerly existed on the sites will survive and the waterlogged moat of the smaller site retains conditions suitable for the preservation of organic materials.

Details

The monument includes two moated sites at Healing Hall. The larger moat is defined by a silted (and now dry) ditch; the smaller moated site, the ditches of which remain waterlogged, is situated in the south-western corner of the larger one. The larger moated site has a roughly square island surrounded by a ditch with, on the north and west sides, an external bank. An internal bank is also present on the north side. The north-eastern corner of the site has been built over and part of the island has been landscaped to form a garden. Overall the site was originally just over 200m square. The northern arm of the moat is now 5m wide and 1m deep, the southern arm 20m wide and 3m deep, and the western arm 10m wide and 1.5m deep. The eastern arm of the moat has been largely infilled but remains visible to the south of the modern buildings and is 15m wide and 3m deep. The external bank on the north and west sides is 1m high and between 5m and 7m wide. The internal bank on the north side is 1m high and 8m wide. The smaller moated site is situated in the south-western corner of the larger site and the southern and western moat arms appear to have been formed by the recutting of the larger site's ditches. The raised island enclosed by the moat is 40m square and has been landscaped as part of the later garden. A concrete air-raid shelter was built into the southern arm of the large moat during the Second World War. It remains in situ. This manorial site is closely associated with Healing's medieval parish church which lies adjacent to it to the east. The modern bridges across the wet moat and the temporary garden structures, such as the wooden summer-house, are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath all these features 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:

21189

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Loughlin, N, Miller, K, Survey of Archaeological Sites in Humberside, (1979), 167

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.