Moated site at Brick Kiln Copse
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1012673
- Date first listed:
- 09-Feb-1955
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1012673
- Date first listed:
- 09-Feb-1955
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 01-Aug-1995
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Sedgehill and Semley
- National Grid Reference:
- ST 89338 27604
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.
Although a large number of moated sites are known, relatively few survive in Wiltshire. This example is particularly important as it survives well and displays potential for the preservation of organic remains and palaeoenvironmental evidence.
Details
The monument includes a moated site in a copse some 75m west of Brick Kiln Cottage. The D-shaped moat is complete on all but the north west side which has been filled in. The site is orientated NNE-SSW and has overall dimensions of around 70m square and a level platform of c.38m x 40m. The ditch is silted and seasonally damp and survives to a width of between 8m and 11m. The inner edge of the north west side remains discernible as a scarp up to 0.2m high and 3m to 4m wide. There is no apparent causewayed entrance to the interior. It would appear that the moat was originally filled by natural water seepage.
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:
- 12042
- Legacy System:
- RSM
Sources
Other
Dennison, E and Darvill, T, HBMC Monument Class Description - Moats, 1988,
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.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jul-2026 at 04:29:03.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.