Site of medieval manor house, Landmoth Hall, including ruins of east wing

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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

12613

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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