Warren Hall moated site

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 Warren Hall example is unusual in this area for possessing two islands and is particularly important for having the preserved timbers of a bridge in situ. Furthermore, additional organic and palaeoenvironmental material is likely to have survived in the moat. Both islands are largely undisturbed, therefore substantial archaeological deposits will survive well.

Details

Warren Hall moated site consists of two islands, the northernmost raised and measuring c.50m x 50m and the southernmost level and measuring c.30m x 30m. The larger is surrounded to west, south and east by a 10m wide waterfilled moat thought to have relied on the natural water-table for its supply. To the north the moat is filled in and partially overlain by the modern farmyard, and it was here, during the construction of a slurry pit in c.1962, that timbers thought to have been part of a bridge were unearthed and covered up again. The moat round the south island exists only on the east side where it has been recut as part of a modern drain. The line of it, however, can be seen where a partly filled ditch runs on the south and west sides. The smaller island, which has a low bank round the edge, is interpreted as a garden or orchard attached to the main house site which lay on the adjacent larger island. Medieval tile, currently with Doncaster Museum, has been found on site and the present house is purported to contain remnants of an older, larger house. The name Warren Hall is said to have derived from the de Warennes for whom the site may have been a hunting lodge. The first documentary reference, however, is in 1521 when the site was leased by William Copley, having formerly been in the possession of the Fitzwilliam family. Excluded from the scheduling are all modern buildings, paths, gates and fencing, but all the ground beneath these features 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:

13222

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Tomlinson, J, Hatfield Chase, (1882)
Le Patourel, H E J, The Moated Sites of Yorkshire, (1973)
Magilton, J, The Doncaster District, (1977)

End of official list entry

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