Moated site 90m west of Terrick House

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 90m west of Terrick House survives well. It is largely undisturbed and will retain buried evidence for structures and other features relating to the period of occupation. The buried silts in the base of the moat ditch will contain both artefacts relating to the period of occupation and environmental evidence for the appearance of the landscape in which the monument was set.

The monument lies in an area where moated sites are fairly numerous, and its unusually small size represents a variation from the more usual dimensions of moated sites in the region. Further moated sites are situated at Grove Farm, 200m to the south west, Apsley Manor Farm, 1.4km to the north west and Marsh, 2.6km to the north west. Comparisons between the sites will provide valuable insights into the nature of settlement and society in the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site 90m west of Terrick House.

The moated site includes a roughly square island measuring a maximum of 24m north east-south west by 20m north west-south east. This is surrounded by a steep-sided water-filled ditch, or moat, which measures approximately 1m deep and approximately 8m in width. Although there is no visible outer bank the ground to the south east and south west slopes steeply down towards the moat. Slight undulations on the island are believed to represent either the buried remains of a building or perhaps have been created by clearing the moat ditch and spreading the upcast. A narrow leat extends for approximately 10m from the east corner of the moat. A modern iron bridge crosses the south eastern arm of the moat.

The 1805 Ellesborough Inclosure Map shows a north west extension to the north eastern arm of the moat, a small pond immediately to the south east of the moat and two further ponds, 120m to the east. The ponds are thought to represent medieval fishponds associated with the moated site. The extension to the moat and the three ponds have all long since been infilled and built over, and as they cannot now be located they are not included in the scheduling.

The summer house, the pathway and steps on the island, the netting, fencing and wooden revetting around the outside of the moat and the iron bridge are all excluded from the scheduling, although 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:

32116

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Buckinghamshire, (1969), 331
Pevsner, N, Williamson, E, The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire, (1994), 295

Other
Title: Ellesborough Inclosure Map Source Date: 1805 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Bucks Record Office Ref: D/BMT/67R

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.