Moated site and an associated raised earthen platform 510m north of Mill 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 and an associated raised earthen platform 510m north of Mill Farm is a well-preserved example of this class of monument. The moated island will retain structural and artefactual evidence of the buildings that once stood on the site, which together with the artefacts and organic remains existing in the moat will provide valuable evidence about the occupation and social status of the inhabitants. Organic remains surviving in the buried ground surfaces under the raised interior and the external banks, and within the moat, will also provide information about the changes to the local environment and the use of the land before and after the moated site was constructed. The external raised platform will retain additional evidence relating to the use of the moated site.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a medieval moated site and an associated raised earthen platform situated on level ground in an area of undulating land. The moat, which is now dry, defines a rectangular island approximately 34m by 38m. The arms of the moat are between 11m and 14m wide and up to 2m deep. Material excavated from the moat has been used to raise the surface of the island by approximately 0.3m above the level of the surrounding ground. Spoil from this operation has also been used to create a broad flat-topped external bank, 24m to 31m wide, alongside the south western moat arm and a narrower external bank, 7m wide, next to the north western arm. A short section of a sandstone block wall of probable medieval date revets the inner face of the north eastern moat arm near to its mid point. Immediately next to, and on the same alignment as the moated site close to its eastern corner there is a rectangular, stepped, earthen platform approximately 11m by 18m and up to 1m high. Its exact purpose is uncertain, but is thought likely to have supported a structure associated with the moated site, and is included in the scheduling. There are a number of features which are excluded from the scheduling, these are: all fences and gates, the fodder container and water trough, 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:

32326

Legacy System:

RSM

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.