Hall Close moated manorial complex

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 remains of the moated manorial complex at Hall Close survive well as a series of earthworks and buried deposits. There is waterlogging in the pond, and also some waterlogging of the open moat and ditches, and these elements, together with the buried deposits within the infilled northern arm of the moat and its links to the former course of the North Beck, 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 banks round the moat and ditches will preserve evidence of the land use prior to their construction.

The manorial complex at Hall Close is rare in being only one of two surviving moated sites of a group of five formerly located within a small area in the parish; as such it will preserve valuable evidence of the way in which this group of sites interrelated as components of the medieval landscape.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site located adjacent to the North Beck, approximately 400m north west of St Andrew's Church in Scredington. The moated site at Hall Close is one of a group of five that existed in Scredington within a 1.25km radius. The land holdings in this area during the Middle Ages were characterised by a complex estate structure. In 1086 two parcels of land were recorded, held by Robert of Stafford and Gilbert de Gant, however, by the 13th century, the land was subdivided as grants of land were made to the church. Further divisions took place in the following century when the land was held by a number of prominent families. By the 15th century the Pylets family were the principal landholders and are thought to have occupied this site. Of the two land holdings recorded in 1086 one settlement centre was probably established in Scredington and the other at Northbeck.

The monument lies on relatively low-lying ground which rises slightly to the south, towards the present day centre of the village. The remains include a moated platform, or island, adjacent to the beck, with a series of earthwork remains of ditched enclosures lying to the east, south and west of the moat. The moated site and surrounding enclosures cover an area measuring approximately 320m by 250m and are thought to represent a manorial complex of medieval origin.

The moated island takes the form of a rectangular platform, measuring 95m by 60m surrounded by a moat, 10m to 14m wide and now grass-filled on the eastern, southern and western sides with a modern earthen causeway giving access to the island over the southern moat arm. Water was formerly supplied by the North Beck which has now been canalised immediately outside the monument to the north. The northern arm of the moat was filled in during the canalisation of the beck but survives as a buried feature.

Within the moated island, at the south west corner, are a series of low earthworks, believed to represent a building platform. A roughly rectangular pond, measuring 50m by 15m, and still water-filled, occupies the north eastern portion of the island. A second, smaller circular pond lies to the west, together with linear hollows at the north western corner of the island. The ponds would have provided fish and fowl for the manor. The moated island is believed to have been occupied by a manor house which formed the focus of the complex.

The moat arms around the island are connected in turn to ditches which enclose the plots lying to the east, south and west. To the west of the complex a deep, wide ditch, with banks on either side, forms the western arm of the water management system with some low earthworks lying to the west, beyond the ditch. A short south-facing slope, with a ditch on its southern side, forms a continuous east-west boundary across most of the site. This boundary is in turn linked to the large embanked western ditch and is thought to define the original limits of the manorial complex, within which service buildings, paddocks and gardens associated with the manor house would have been located. Further ditched enclosures, extending southwards from the principal complex, are believed to be later in date.

All fences 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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

31603

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Healey, RH, Roffe, DR, Some medieval and later earthworks in South Lincolnshire, (1990), 95-97
Butler, L A S, Journal of the British Archaeological Association in Hambleton Moat, Scredington, Lincolnshire, Vol. 26, (1963), 51-78

Other
Title: Scredington Inclosure plan Source Date: 1797 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: tithe award
nos. 0006EU, 0005EU, JK St Joseph, Aerial photographs, (1997)
Hartley Leicester Museum, Aerial Photograph, (1981)
Lincolnshire SMR, Li 60728, (1997)

End of official list entry

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