Moated site 120m south east of Huntingdrop Farm

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1017311
Date first listed:: 18-Jul-2000

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1017311
Date first listed:: 18-Jul-2000

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Worcestershire
District:: Wychavon (District Authority)
Parish:: Hanbury
National Grid Reference:: SO 92879 62398

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 120m south east of Huntingdrop Farm survives as a largely undisturbed and well preserved example of a high status medieval moat which incorporates unusual features. The undisturbed nature of the island will preserve evidence of former structures, including both domestic and ancillary buildings and their associated occupation levels. These remains will illustrate the nature of use of the site and the lifestyle of its inhabitants in addition to providing evidence which will facilitate the dating of the construction and subsequent periods of use of the moat.

The moat will be expected to preserve earlier deposits including evidence of its construction and any alterations during its active history. In addition, the waterlogged condition of the moat will preserve artefactual and environmental information about the landscape in which it was set.

Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a medieval moated site 120m south east of Huntingdrop Farm. The site is located on level ground at the western edge of the parish of Hanbury, approximately 1.6km east of Droitwich.

Huntingdrop was originally part of Dodderhill parish (detached) and later incorporated into the parish of Hanbury in the 19th century. The moated site occupies land believed to have been in cultivation by 1086 and is considered to have been a high status site.

The moated island is sub-rectangular, measuring some 50m by 48m, and is defined by a ditch, or moat, which although silted still maintains a depth of water. The moat is irregular throughout its circuit. The northern arm is approximately 10m wide and has been widened to 30m to form a pond for the first 35m of its western end. The eastern arm is connected to the northern arm by a 1m-2m wide by 3m long leat. This eastern arm measures approximately 10m wide and 20m in length and has a short extension to the west at its southern end. The southern arm runs diagonally at approximately 45 degrees from the southern end of the eastern arm to the south east. It broadens from approximately 10m wide to a maximum of 20m in width at the junction with the western arm. The western arm is approximately 10m to 14m wide. A small irregular island lies within the western arm of the moat. This island measures from 2m wide at the northern end to 10m wide at its southern end and is approximately 40m in length. The moat, which is believed to be filled by surface run off and springwater, drains via its south western and south eastern corners. Access to the moated island is gained via causeways in the north western and south eastern corners. A third causeway exists 20m to the south west of the south eastern entrance. This is believed to represent the original entrance. Surface undulations on the moated island are believed to mark the locations of buried structures including the main dwelling and associated auxiliary buildings.

All modern fencing and surfaces 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:: 31950
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Aston, M, Moat at Huntingdrop Farm, Hanbury, Worcs., (1970)
Dyer, C, Hanbury Survey, (1991)
Dyer, C, 'Occasional Papers in English Local History, Fourth Series, #4' in Hanbury: Settlement And Society In A Woodland Landscape, , Vol. 4, (1991)
Other
Bond, C.J., Provisional List of Moats in Worcestershire, (1972)
Record Cards, (1970)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.