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.
Details
The monument includes a moated site comprising two conjoined moated enclosures
of unequal size, situated on level ground at the northern end of the parish of
Dennington. The small enclosure, which is to the south east of Grange Farm
House and is almost certainly the earlier in date, survives as an unoccupied
island of irregular plan with maximum dimensions of 25m north - south by 20m
east - west, largely surrounded by a water-filled moat approximately 2m deep
and measuring between 7m and 11m in width. Access is provided by a wide
causeway on the western side. The south eastern corner of the moat extends
outward into an irregular pond, and the western arm north of the causeway has
been enlarged externally to make another. The eastern arm of the moat extends
northward into a ditch approximately 47m long, ranging from 5m to 7m in width,
and up to 2m deep, and this extension forms the eastern arm of a second and
much larger moat which surrounds three sides of a sub-rectangular enclosure to
the north of Grange Farm House and the smaller enclosure. The larger enclosure
has internal dimensions of up to 102m east - west by 93m north - south, and
the moat ditch around its west, north sides, and north east sides is generally
narrower and more regular in form than that of the smaller moat, measuring
from 4m to 7m in width and having an average depth of approximately 2m. The
ditch is silted but still wet, with a seasonally variable depth of water, and
the eastern arm is divided by a central causeway. Within the south eastern
corner of the large enclosure, in the angle defined by the north arm of the
smaller moat, is a flat-topped earthen mound or broad bank approximately 0.7m
high, terraced steeply on the western side, and sloping gently towards the
edges of the moats to the south and east. This earthwork has the appearance of
a prospect mound, providing a vantage point from which to view a 16th or 17th
century formal garden occupying the large enclosure to the north and north
west. It is bordered on the northern side by a dry east - west ditch measuring
up to 4m in width.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21310
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
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 Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
