Medieval moated site with adjacent late medieval Pondbay, Walsh Manor, Crowborough

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 moated site at Walsh Manor shows a diversity of component parts including an unusual ornamental entrance and is of high archaeological potential due to its continued waterlogging. The pondbay is one of ca.100 such monuments known in the Weald and represents a dammed pond and an associated iron-works dating to the 15th-18th centuries, the remains of which are considered likely to survive in the area between the pondbay and the moated site.

Details

The moated site is represented by a rectangular ditched area 85m by 50m with an extension at the north-west corner which formed a fishpond associated with the moated site. Also included is an earthen bank to the west of the moat which formerly dammed a stream to provide power for an iron-works. Moated sites are generally seen as the prestigious residences of the Lords of the manor. The moat marked the high status of the occupier, but also served to deter casual raiders and wild animals. Most moats were constructed between 1250 and 1350, and it is to this period that the example at Walsh Manor is likely to date. On the eastern side of the moated site is an entrance causeway 25m long which is flanked by shallow ponds on either side. The more northerly of these ponds is linked to the moated site by a drain and empties into the eastward flowing stream nearby. Being on the downstream side of the moated site, these ponds are considered to have been an ornamental addition to the entrance way rather than to have functioned as fishponds. On the western side of the moated site is a well-preserved pondbay stretching across the narrow valley. Pondbays are dams which held back water to drive a water-wheel which in turn powered the heavy ore-crushing hammers and bellows of iron-works. Pondbays were employed from the 15th-18th centuries, and are typically associated with other remains of the iron-works such as the wheel- pit, blast furnace and casting floor, all of which were sited near the pondbay. The fencing around parts of the monument are excluded from the scheduling.

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:

12732

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Cleere, H, Crossley, D, The Iron Industry of the Weald, (1985), 219-76

Other
TQ 52 NW 10,
Darvill, T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Moats, (1988)

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