Park Closes moated lodge, 130m south west of Park 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.

Although the moated site at Park Farm, Holme-on-Spalding Moor has been partly infilled, and only two of its moated arms survive as visible features, the remaining two arms will survive as buried features and all four arms will retain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the period of their construction. The moat island is unencumbered by modern building and it will retain evidence of the structure which originally occupied it. The monument is a rare example of a moated lodge associated with a medieval deer park. It is one of a number of moated sites in this part of East Yorkshire, clustering along both the northern and southern sides of the River Humber, which represent a typical form of settlement of low-lying and flood plain land such as this in the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes a moated lodge, 100m south west of Park Farm. The moated site is associated with the site of a medieval deer park, which gives its name to the locality. The moated site probably functioned as a hunting lodge within the park, and is the only surviving element of the park and its associated features. The monument includes two visible moat arms forming the northern and western sides of the original moat, each measuring 75m in length. Originally the moat would have enclosed an area of some 55m square. Agricultural activity has caused the infilling of the eastern and southern arms of the moat, but these will survive as buried features and are still visible as slight depressions in the surface of the land. The surviving moat ditches range from between 5m-10m wide across their tops, although averaging around 7m-8m wide, and are up to 1.5m deep, and still contain standing water in places. Although under cultivation, the central island area will retain structural remains associated with the original occupation of the moat. An inlet channel is located in the south west corner of the moat, and is included in the scheduling. Modern post and wire fences, telegraph poles and farm structures are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

26611

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Le Patourel, H.E J, Monograph Series No 5 in The Moated Sites of Yorkshire, (1973), 113

Other
Humberside SMR, Sites and Monuments Records Sheets, (1996)

End of official list entry

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