Bromwich Park moated site and formal garden remains

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.

Bromwich Park moated site and the associated formal garden survive well as earthworks with associated buried deposits. The moated island will retain structural and artefactual evidence of the buildings that once stood on the site, which together with the artefacts and organic remains existing in the moat will provide valuable information about the occupation and the social status of the inhabitants. Organic remains surviving in the buried ground surface of the interior and within the moat will also provide information about the local environment and use of the land before and after the moated site was constructed.

The formal garden enhanced the immediate surroundings of the moated site during the post-medieval period. The buried remains of walkways, parterres and other ornamental features are expected to survive, together with the evidence of planting schemes. These remains will provide a valuable insight into the functional and artistic development of gardening during this period.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a medieval moated site and a post-medieval formal garden. The moated site lay within a deer park, formerly known as Bromhurst Park, which was established by the Earl of Arundel in the 13th century. The moated site was constructed in an area of gently undulating land. Three of the four moat arms survive as visible earthworks each about 19m wide. The fourth arm has been infilled but will survive as a buried feature. Its course is principally defined by the track that runs past Bromwich Park Farm. The moat defined an island, which was probably square, about 40m across. Material excavated from the moat was used to raise the surface of the island by approximately 1m above the level of the surrounding land. Additional material was deposited outside the moat, alongside the south eastern and south western arms, to form banks 13m wide and 0.8m high. The moat is now dry, and a channel at the intersection of the two outer banks connects with a modern drainage ditch in order to drain the moat. A pond formerly located within the north part of the north eastern arm has also been filled in. The well-defined earthworks that exist on the island indicate the presence of structural features. Embedded bricks and stone blocks give a further indication of the nature of some of the buildings that once stood here.

Adjoining the moated site, on its south eastern side, are remains of a post-medieval formal garden. The garden layout is indicated by numerous low scarps, that run parallel with and at right angles to the south eastern moat ditch and outer bank which define a series of level platforms.

A number of features are excluded from the scheduling, these are; all modern field boundaries, garden and enclosure walls, gates and fences, track and yard surfaces, and the telegraph pole and animal trough on the moated island; the ground beneath all these features is, however, 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:

32305

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: County Series map Source Date: 1874 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:

End of official list entry

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