Moated site 310m east of Pasture Farm

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 310m east of Pasture Farm survives well. Except for the sewage pipe which runs north east-south west across the southern end, the island is largely undisturbed and will retain buried evidence for any internal property divisions, as well as structures and other features relating to the period of occupation. The buried silts in the base of the 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. Despite some possible part infilling of the south east arm of the moat, the ditch survives well.

Fishponds are artificially created pools of slow moving fresh water constructed for the purpose of cultivating, breeding and storing fish in order to provide a constant and sustainable food supply. The tradition of constructing and using fishponds began in the medieval period and reached a peak of popularity in the 12th century. They were largely the province of the wealthier sectors of medieval society, and are considered important as a source of information concerning the economy of various classes of medieval settlements and institutions. Some of the depressions in the interior of the moat island are likely to represent property divisions, and at least one is thought to have been reutilised as a fishpond, and this would have formed an integral part of the medieval settlement.

The monument lies in an area where moated sites are relatively numerous, and its large size represents a variation from the more usual dimensions of moated sites in the region. It is situated in close proximity to further moated sites; one to the south of Beachendon Farm, Waddesdon, 2.2km to the north west, and the other at Marsh, 4.5km to the south east. Comparisons between these sites will provide valuable insights into the nature of settlement and society in the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site with an associated building platform. It is sited approximately 310m east of Pasture Farm.

The moated site includes a roughly rectangular island measuring approximately 110m north east-south west by 90m north west-south east which is contained by a ditch, or moat, measuring between 4m and 11m across and between 0.5m and 1m deep. An inner bank is visible on the north east and north west sides of the island measuring about 3m wide and 0.5m high. Linear features, some of which are believed to represent internal property divisions, are shown on a 1996 Cambridge University aerial photograph. It is thought that one of these divisions, visible on the ground as a shallow depression, may have been reused as a fishpond. The fishpond, which measures about 20m long by 5m wide, is situated in the middle of the island and is aligned north west-south east. Other less well-defined earthworks on the island may represent either further fishponds or the remains of structures and related settlement activity. The island is approached by a modern bridge across the north eastern arm of the moat.

Immediately north west of the moat and parallel with its north western arm is a building platform which measures approximately 28m north west-south east by 20m north east-south west and about 1m high and is considered to represent an ancillary structure related to the moated site: perhaps a stable, barn or other building.

The 1803 Inclosure map of Dinton records the moated site as `Blooms Close' and it is probable that the site represents the `Manor of Blomers', a small manor `intermixed with Ford', which has belonged to the Hampdens, the Claytons, and in 1813 was owned by the Earl of Chesterfield before becoming the property of the lord of the manor of Dinton.

Traces of the contemporary system of medieval strip cultivation (ridge and furrow) can still be detected in the vicinity of the moated site, but this is not included in the scheduling.

The fences around the moat ditch, the sewage pipe installed across the south side of the moat and the cattle trough on the island are 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.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

32119

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Buckinghamshire, (1969), 274

Other
Title: Parish of Dinton Tithe Map Source Date: 1848 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Bucks Record Office Ref: 395a
Bucks Co Musuem: A25/27/14, Cambridge University, (1996)
Bucks Co Museum: A25/27/14, Cambridge University, (1996)

End of official list entry

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