Moated site and fishpond, 200m south-west of Hilderstone 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.

The monument south-west of Hilderstone Hall is a good example of a moated site and associated fishpond. The moated site displays a range of characteristics associated with this class of monument, including good evidence for buried features and an inner bank to the island. The ditches which have silted naturally will retain evidence for the environment and economy of the inhabitants.

Details

The monument is situated approximately 200m south-west of Hilderstone Hall near the village of Hilderstone and includes a moated site and an associated fishpond. All features on the site are aligned on a NW-SE axis, the fishpond lying to the south-east of the moated site. The moated site has external dimensions of approximately 100m square. The dry moat is approximately 12m wide and is up to 4m deep. The south-western arm of the moat is now 1m deep and appears to have been partly backfilled. External banks are visible on the north-western and south-western edges of the moat. The outer banks are 2m wide and 0.5m high. The moated island measures 58m square and projects out of a natural hillslope. There are traces of an internal enclosure bank on all sides and slight earthworks in the central part of the island, indicating the existence of buried features. There is no surface evidence of the original access onto the island. At the northern and eastern corners of the moated site are the remains of drainage channels. These would originally have provided the water supply for the moat. A slight break in the outer bank at the southern corner of the moat represents the remains of the outlet channel from the moat. The fishpond is situated immediately to the south-east of the moated site. The outer edge of the moat, on its south-eastern side, rises to form a retaining bank for the pond. The slight bank continues beyond the southern corner of the moated site and curves southward to form a retaining bank at the south-western edge of the fishpond. The pond, which is water-filled, is silting up at its north-eastern edge. The present Hilderstone Hall, 200m north-east of the moated site, outside the area of the scheduling, was built in 1730, but records concerning a house on the moated site date back to the 13th century. The fence posts on the monument, the small boat-house and the modern brick retaining wall which is situated at the south-western edge of the fishpond are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath 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:

21533

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hammer, M E, Staffordshire Archaeology in The Moated Sites of Staffordshire, Vol. 3, (1974), 38

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.

Print the official list entry