Morley Ponds moated site, Ware

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1012332
Date first listed:: 23-Jan-1991

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1012332
Date first listed:: 23-Jan-1991

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Hertfordshire
District:: East Hertfordshire (District Authority)
Parish:: Wareside
National Grid Reference:: TL 38725 15387

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.

Morley Ponds is a well-preserved example of a Hertfordshire moated site. The site has been largely unaffected by later land use and as such has high potential for the preservation of both wet and dry archaeological remains.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a Medieval moated enclosure, ovoid in shape, measuring some 95m north-south by 70m east-west in maximum external dimensions. The waterfilled moat varies in width between 4m and 25m at the north and south arms respectively. Entry to the moated island is provided by the remains of a modern footbridge at the south-east angle. The moated island is flat with no surface indication for the location of buildings or other structural features. Two ponds to the north of the enclosure, and outside of the scheduled area, are possibly the remains of fishponds associated with the moated site.

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:: 11562
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Other
Ordnance Survey Record F1, A.P.S., Ordnance Survey Record F1, (1971)
Private photos (1950's), (1950)
Title: Tithe Map (1845) Source Date: 1845 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:

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.