Manor Holt moated site

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1012453
Date first listed:: 09-Oct-1981

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1012453
Date first listed:: 09-Oct-1981
Date of most recent amendment:: 04-Sep-1991

Location

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

District:: Doncaster (Metropolitan Authority)
Parish:: Bawtry
National Grid Reference:: SK 62928 94270

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 Manor Holt example, with an inner moat set within an outer and a double revetment, is unique in South Yorkshire and unusual nationally. It is therefore an important example, demonstrating the diversity of form of this class of monument. Though partially disturbed by forestry, the monument survives well and is expected to contain considerable in situ deposits.

Details

Manor Holt moated site consists of a rhomboidal island, measuring c.40m each side, surrounded by a 10m wide inner moat enlarged at the south-west corner to form a fishpond. The whole is enclosed by a rectangular outer moat measuring c.100m x 70m and with a possible causeway near the north-west corner. The outer moat is embanked on the inside along the west, south and east sides. The inner moat is embanked on the same three sides but along its outside edge. The double revetment thus created between the two moats suggests a function that was at least nominally defensive. The site is documented from the thirteenth century onwards as being the centre of a manor held by the Morton family.

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:: 13228
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Magilton, J, The Doncaster District, (1977)

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.