Moated site 700m north of Ireland's 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 of Ireland's Farm survives well and, unusually for this area, its setting is completely unencumbered by modern development. The moated island will retain archaeological information on the structures which were originally situated here. Despite the cleaning of the moat in 1987, the silts remaining in the lower parts of the ditches will retain both artefactual and environmental evidence relating to the site's occupation, the economy of its inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived.

Details

The monument includes a moated site situated at the bottom of a valley, 700m north of Ireland's Farm. The moated site has external dimensions of approximately 62m square and has been constructed across the course of a small stream. The water supply for the moat arms enters at the north western corner of the site and would have originally been controlled by a sluice, which will survive as a buried feature. The arms of the moat are water filled, up to 14m wide and approximately 3.5m deep. The moated island is raised above the surrounding ground surface and measures 33m square. Access onto the moated island is currently via a timber footbridge across the northern arm of the moat. There is no visible evidence for the location of the original entrance, although a 19th century tithe map indicates that at that time there was an entrance across the eastern moat arm. During the late 13th or early 14th century William de Harcourt granted the Lapworth area of his estate to Henry de Braunteson and his heirs. There are late 13th century documentary references to a `mansion' in the Lapworth Park area and they are thought to refer to the moated site. The modern timber footbridge across the north western corner of the moat and all fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

21620

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Moated Site Research Group, , Moated site at Lapworth Park, (1984)
Cossins, J A, Transactions of Birmingham Archaeological & Historical Society in Moated site at Lapworth Park, Vol. 33, (1907), 67

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