Moated site 80m west of Blymhill Grange
Overview
Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number: 1011057
Date first listed: 12-Jan-1994
Map
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Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County: Staffordshire
District: South Staffordshire (District Authority)
Parish: Blymhill and Weston-under-Lizard
National Grid Reference: SJ 81142 12054
Summary
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
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 80m west of Blymhill Grange is a good example of a medieval
moated site and is unencumbered by modern development. The monument will
retain important structural and artefactual evidence for the type and period
of occupation and for the economy of its inhabitants.
History
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Details
The monument is situated 80m west of Blymhill Grange and includes a
rectangular moated site.
The moated island measures 26m NW-SE by 34m NE-SW and is raised up to 1m above
the surrounding ground surface. The moat is approximately 11m wide and up to
1.5m deep and is now dry. There is no surface evidence of the original access
onto the moated island but it is considered to have been via a wooden bridge.
An external bank is visible on the outer edges of the south-western and
south-eastern arms of the moat. The outer bank on the south-eastern edge of
the site has been cut into the adjacent hillslope.
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: 21521
Legacy System: RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Hammer, M E, 'Staffordshire Archaeology' in The Moated Sites of Staffordshire, , Vol. 3, (1974), 32
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official listing