Moated grange in White Hall Wood

Reasons for Designation

A monastic 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 within the parent monastic house itself, and also to provide surpluses for sale for profit. The first monastic granges appeared in the 12th century but they continued to be constructed and used until the Dissolution. This system of agriculture was pioneered by the Cistercian order but was soon imitated by other orders. Some granges were worked by resident lay-brothers (secular workers) of the order but others were staffed by non-resident labourers. The majority of granges practised a mixed economy but some were specialist in their function. Five types of grange are known: agrarian farms, bercaries (sheep farms), vaccaries (cattle ranches), horse studs and industrial complexes. A monastery might have more than one grange and the wealthiest houses had many. Frequently a grange was established on lands immediately adjacent to the monastery, this being known as the home grange. Other granges, however, could be found wherever the monastic site held lands. On occasion these could be located at some considerable distance from the parent monastery. Granges are broadly comparable with contemporary secular farms although the wealth of the parent house was frequently reflected in the size of the grange and the layout and architectural embellishment of the buildings. Additionally, because of their monastic connection, granges tend to be much better documented than their secular counterparts. No region was without monastic granges. The exact number of sites which originally existed is not precisely known but can be estimated, on the basis of numbers of monastic sites, at several thousand. Of these, however, only a small percentage can be accurately located on the ground today. Of this group of identifiable sites, continued intensive use of many has destroyed much of the evidence of archaeological remains. In view of the importance of granges to medieval rural and monastic life, all sites exhibiting good archaeological survival are identified as nationally important.

The remains of the medieval moated grange at White Hall Wood survive well as a series of earthworks and buried deposits. Waterlogging in the moat and fishpond will preserve organic remains, such as timber, leather and seeds, which will give an insight into domestic and economic activity on the site. In addition the artificially raised ground of the island and its external banks will preserve evidence of the land use prior to construction of the moat. The association of the grange with Kirkstead Abbey contributes to an understanding of the important inter-relationship of these contemporary components of the wider medieval landscape.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site located in White Hall Wood which is believed to be the site of Martin Grange. It is also believed that the grange, or monastic farm, was associated with Kirkstead Abbey. At the end of the 12th century a grange of Kirkstead Abbey was established at the western end of the parish of Roughton when Roland of Woodhall gave his demense woodland and assarts to the abbey in about 1196 to 1198. It may subsequently have been the site of Whitehall, a property known to have been leased by Ralph Lord Cromwell.

The monument takes the form of a moated island with external banks and adjacent fishpond. The island is rectangular in plan, measuring 50m by 40m, and is artificially raised above the surrounding ground level. Medieval building debris has been recorded on the island, and a raised platform in the centre of the island is believed to represent the site of a building. The island is enclosed by a broad water-filled moat measuring 10m to 14m in width and up to 1.5m deep. An earthen causeway which crosses the northern moat arm is thought to represent the original access point.

The moat is lined by external banks on the southern and western moat arms. The southern bank measures approximately 8m wide and stands up to 1m high. The western bank, measuring 4m to 6m in width and standing to a height of approximately 0.5m, is interrupted by a narrow channel representing part of the site's water control system. At the north western corner of the moat a channel leads northward to a roughly oval pond, measuring 20m by 8m and lying parallel to the northern moat arm, which is thought to represent the remains of a fishpond.

All fences and pheasant pens 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:

31637

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Owen, D M, Church and society in medieval Lincolnshire, (1971), 60

Other
Lincolnshire SMR, Li 40215, (1998)
NMR, 352778, (1998)

End of official list entry

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