Moated site 285m east of Castlethorpe House

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 and associated earthworks at Castlethorpe will retain important archaeological information about the medieval settlement and economy of the Ancholme valley. The monument will include buried deposits, such as those contained within infilled drainage ditches and rubbish pits, in addition to structural remains of buildings. Evidence of water control features, such as sluices, is also expected to survive.

Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a medieval moated site, together with associated earthwork remains of buildings and other features. The Domesday Survey of 1086 listed Castlethorpe as a manor within the parish of Broughton. It is thought that it developed as a hamlet controlling a quayside on the River Ancholme to the east, with the main settlement lying close to the modern Castlethorpe Hall, nearly 1km to the NNW of the moated site. From at least 1115 until the early 15th century, the Painel family were major land holders in Castlethorpe. Members of this family, who were major benefactors to a number of religious houses, entertained the king's household at Castlethorpe on at least two occasions, in 1267 and 1317. There is also a 1374 reference to Ralph Painel's manorial establishment at Castlethorpe. The earthworks of the moated site and surrounding area were surveyed in 1979 by Boden and Miller and in 1988 the area was the subject of a geophysical survey. In 1992, the Humberside Archaeology Unit conducted two sets of small scale trial excavations investigating features to the north and east of the main concentration of earthworks. Towards the centre of the monument is the moated site. This includes an approximately 50m square island surrounded by ditches up to 0.75m deep and 12m wide. The ditch on the western side of the island is partly infilled by a later field boundary and is now 9m wide. The enclosed island is slightly higher than the surrounding land surface and includes slight earthwork features, especially to the south west, interpreted as building remains. Just across the moat ditch to the west of these features, there is a platform 35m by 15m which forms the highest point within the monument. Further small raised platforms, which are considered to have been sites of medieval buildings, lie between the moated site and the road to the south of the monument. This area is subdivided by breaks of slope, shallow ditches and low banks into rectangular areas which are considered to have been small medieval garden plots or yards. One of the ditches extends south from the south western corner of the moated site and is thought to have been part of the moat's drainage system. Two further ditches extend northwards from the two northern corners of the moated site, the western ditch now largely infilled by a later field boundary, but still detectable by geophysical surveying. To the west of the moated site there is a right angled ditch 10m wide and 0.5m deep, considered to define an additional enclosure for a fishpond which survives as a 20m by 10m depression towards its centre. Later drainage ditches and field boundaries to the north and east are not included in the scheduling. All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath 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:

32625

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Watt, J , Archaeological Trial Excavations by Scawby Road, Brigg, (1992)
Record cards, North Lincolnshire SMR, 726,

End of official list entry

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