Old Rectory moated site, Glebe House

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.

Old Rectory moated site remains essentially undisturbed and will retain archaeological information relating to the occupation of the site. The water-filled ditches will retain environmental evidence pertaining to the economy of its inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived.

Details

The monument includes a moated site situated on a west-facing slope overlooking the River Stort, immediately north of Glebe House, 225m north-east of St Giles' Church. The monument includes a sub-rectangular moated site of which the eastern arm has been infilled but will survive as a buried feature. The remaining moat ditches describe a horseshoe shape enclosing an area 63m east-west by about 55m north-south. The ditches measure between 13m and 3m in width and approximately 1.5m to 5m in depth and are waterlogged except the western arm which remains water-filled. An external retaining bank 2m wide and 0.5m high runs along the western arm. A causeway 2.5m wide across the southern arm gives access to the island which has earthworks indicating the subsurface remains of earlier buildings on the site. The tennis courts, sheds, fences, kiln and aviary, which occupy the site at present, are excluded from the scheduling, though the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

20702

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SMR No: 4290, Information from SMR (No: 4290),

End of official list entry

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