Moated site 240m north west of Preston Hill Farm

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 north west of Preston Hill Farm survives well and is unencumbered by modern development. The moated island will retain archaeological information for the buildings or other structures which originally occupied it and the naturally silted moat arms will retain evidence for the environment and economy of the occupants of the moated site.

Details

The monument is situated in the bottom of a valley adjacent to a tributary of the River Alne and includes a moated site and an area of ridge and furrow cultivation. The moated site has external dimensions of 72m south west-north east and 68m north west-south east. The moat arms measure up to 10m wide and 1.5m deep and are seasonally waterlogged. The north western moat arm projects north eastwards towards the stream for a distance of c.5m and originally formed the inlet channel for the moat. External banks are visible along the north western and south eastern arms of the moat. The moated island measures approximately 50m square and has internal banks on the north western and north eastern sides. The raised island has a level surface and there is a slight projection at the western corner. There is no visible evidence for the original access onto the island. To the south east of the moated site are the earthwork remains of ridge and furrow cultivation. The ridge and furrow respects the moated site and the relationship between the two features illustrates the impact the moated site had on the land use of the surrounding area. The ridge and furrow is aligned north west-south east and a 12m wide sample is included in the scheduling in order to preserve the relationship between the ridge and furrow and the moated site.

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:

21577

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Stocker, D.A., (1993)

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.

Print the official list entry