Packwood Hall moated site

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.

Packwood Hall moated site survives well and is largely unencumbered by modern development. It is a good example of a medieval moated site which is located in close proximity to the parish church and has a detailed manorial history. Its documented association with the Prior of Coventry during the 15th century clearly reflects the importance of the site at this time. The moated island will retain structural and artefactual evidence for the house and buildings which originally existed here. Additionally, organic material will be preserved within the waterfilled moat ditches providing information for the environment and economy of the site's inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived.

Details

The monument is situated in a relatively isolated context, immediately to the west of St Giles' Church, and includes a moated site.

Packwood Hall moated site is rectangular in plan and has external dimensions of approximately 111m north-south and up to 75m west-east. The arms of the waterfilled moat have near vertical sides and average 12m wide. At the north western corner of the site, the moat projects westwards as far as Glasshouse Lane, parallel with the lane leading to the church. A 15m length of this channel, closest to the moat, is waterfilled and is included in the scheduling. The western part of this feature has been partly infilled and modified for use as a drainage channel for the surrounding fields and is not included in the scheduling.

Access onto the moated island is by means of bridges across the western and eastern arms of the moat. Both bridges are constructed in brick and are thought to date from the 19th century. The structures themselves are not included in the scheduling, but their positions are believed to mark the original means of access to the island. The bridge across the eastern moat ditch provides direct access to the churchyard of St Giles' Church. The church has medieval masonry within its fabric and is thought to have been closely associated with the inhabitants of the moated site during the medieval period.

The moated island measures approximately 84m north-south and 58m west-east and has a relatively level surface. The northern part of the island is occupied by the present Packwood Hall, a Grade II Listed Building, which dates from at least the 17th century with later alterations. There are documentary records for the manorial history of the site and the Prior of Coventry is known to have owned a house at Packwood in 1410.

The present Packwood Hall, its associated outbuildings and the bridges across the western and eastern arms of the moat are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath is included. All fence posts, the surfaces of all paths, driveways and the tennis court, the flag-pole and the floodlights on the moated island, and the electricity pole are also excluded from the scheduling, although 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:

21610

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Warwickshire , (1949), 130
Belton, J, Packwood, (1951), 78-9

Other
RCHME, SP17SE 11, (1976)

End of official list entry

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