Reasons for Designation
Landmoth was a medieval manor mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086 and
occasionally thereafter. It is well-documented from 1428. Manorial centres
were important foci of medieval rural life. They served as prestigious
aristocratic or seigniorial residences, the importance of their inhabitants
being reflected in the quality and elaboration of their buildings. Local
agricultural and village life was normally closely regulated by the Lord of
the manor, and hence the inhabitants of these sites had a controlling interest
in many aspects of medieval life. Manorial sites could take on many forms.
In many areas of the country the buildings were located within a moat, the
latter being intended to further impress the status of the site on the wider
population. Other manors, like Landmoth, were not moated their status being
indicated largely by the quality of their buildings. This latter group of
manorial centres are the most difficult to identify today because the sites
were not enclosed by major earthwork features, such as a moat, which may
survive well, and the original buildings often exhibited a fairly unplanned
layout which could extend over a large area. Continued use of the site has
also in many instances led to destruction of medieval remains. Hence examples
of medieval manorial centres of this type which can be positively identified
and demonstrated to have extensive surviving archaeological remains are
relatively rare.
The surviving ruins and earthworks at Landmoth Hall appear to be of C16 or
earlier date and indicate a house of some quality. This survival is unusual
in North Yorkshire, a large county in which few domestic buildings of this
date survive. There is little evidence of post-medieval disturbance, and
archaeological deposits associated with the ruins and with earlier buildings
on the site will survive in good condition.
Details
The monument is the site of the medieval manorial seat of Landmoth-cum-Catto,
now partly occupied by a late-C19 farmhouse, but with surviving ruins of the
eastern wing of C16 Landmoth Hall, which survived in use as an outbuilding
following the demolition and replacement of the remainder of the structure.
The site occupies a platform cut into the hillslope, with a steep drop at its
eastern side. The late C19 brick-built farmhouse sits, in places, on
sandstone foundations, which may incorporate those of the main block of its
C16 predecessor. The surviving wing of the earlier hall is rectangular in
plan, lying north-south, and built of squared sandstone. The western wall has
a number of blocked openings towards its southern end, and a single jamb of a
doorway towards the north. The north wall contains a further blocked opening,
whilst the south wall retains a rectangular window opening. The southern part
of the eastern wall, including a massive chimney base, is visible only as an
earthwork; the northern part includes two fine stone-mullioned windows with
elliptical-headed lights. Stone from this building tumbles down the steep
slope to the east.
The brick-built farmhouse is excluded from the scheduling as are a modern
toilet building at the south-east corner of the ruined wing, and a two-stall
stable block to the north. The ground under all these buildings is, however,
included. The garden walls where they bound the monument are excluded.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
