Moated site and associated water management features 150m north of The Gadlas

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 water management features 150m north of The Gadlas is a well preserved example of this class of monument. 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 evidence about the occupation and social status of the inhabitants. Organic remains surviving in the buried ground surfaces under the external banks, and within the moat, will also provide information about the changes to the local environment and use of the land before and after the moated site was constructed. The juxtaposition of the moated site to the former stream course and the connecting channel gives an indication of how the water supply to the moated site was controlled.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a medieval moated site and associated water management features situated in an area of gently undulating land. The moat, which retains a little water, defines a rectangular island approximately 38m north west-south east and 58m south west-north east. The arms of the moat are between 12m and 16m wide, and are surrounded on all sides by external banks created from the material excavated from the moat. These banks are between 13m and 20m wide and have been spread and reduced in height by ploughing. Access onto the island is via a causeway which crosses the south eastern moat arm near its mid-point. A circular depression 7m in diameter in the northern half of the island indicates the position of a former well. A series of later cultivation remains cross the island and are aligned north west-south east. Immediately to the east of the moated site are the remains of a former stream course, which has been drained and which provided water to the moat. A channel at the north eastern corner of the moated site connected the stream course with the moat. The channel and part of the stream course are included in the scheduling in order to preserve their relationship with the moated site. All hedges, fences and gates 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:

32320

Legacy System:

RSM

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