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.
Details
The monument includes a medieval moated site located in a valley bottom 450m
south east of Overwater Hall. It includes a sub-rectangular island surrounded
by a dry moat that is flanked on all sides by an outer bank. The island
measures between 86m-90m north-south by 66m-74m east-west and contains an
inner bank on its east and west sides; this bank measures 2m wide by 0.3m high
on the island's west side, but along the east side it only exists as a faint
earthwork other than a short length at the south east corner where it measures
up to 6m wide and 1.3m high. The island is surrounded by a dry moat 2.5m-6m
wide and up to 1.2m deep which was fed by an inlet channel, now dry, at the
south east corner. Traces of two outlet channels, both now dry, exist at the
north west and north east corners. Flanking the moat on the east and west
sides is an outer bank 4m-5m wide and up to 1.3m high. There is a break in the
outer bank on the east side of the moat a little to the north of centre which
indicates the site of an entrance where a bridge would have originally been
located. An outer bank also exists on the south side but is a much less
substantial feature, being 3m wide and 0.2m high. On the north side of the
moat aerial photographs show faint traces of an outer bank which has
subsequently been largely removed or quarried away leaving a rectangular
hollow at the north east corner and an L shaped bank at the north west corner.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
23796
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
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.
End of official list entry
