Medieval moated grange 160m south east of The Grange

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.

A grange was a farm owned and run by a monastic community and independent of the secular manorial system of communal agriculture and servile labour. The function of granges was to provide food and raw materials for consumption by the parent house and to also to provide surpluses for profit. The majority of granges practised a mixed economy but some were specialist in their function such as cattle ranches, sheep farms or industrial complexes. Granges were located on monastic lands which, in some cases, were located some distance from the monastery.

The medieval moated grange south east of The Grange survives well and important remains will be preserved within the ditch and the central platform. As a monastic grange the monument offers important scope for the study of medieval rural and monastic life.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site which was the location of a monastic grange. The moated site includes a rectangular ditch enclosing a raised central platform. The platform measures 150m north to south by 80m east to west. On the eastern perimeter the ditch is up to 1.2m and has an internal bank up to 0.75m high, elswhere it is less well preserved but is still visible as an earthwork. At the north edge of the main platform is a slightly raised oval platform. Water was supplied to the moat at the north east corner from a ditch to the north and drained away through a leat at the south west corner. The grange was the property of Byland Abbey and was granted by Roger de Mowbray in the 12th century.

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:

28291

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Platt, C, The Monastic Grange in Medieval England, (1969), 188

Other
(1976)
AJC 101/23-6, (1976)

End of official list entry

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