Moated site, ridge and furrow cultivation remains and a building platform immediately north of Lower Grounds

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 immediately north of Lower Grounds is a well-preserved example of this class of monument. The moated island will retain buried evidence of the buildings that once stood on the site, which together with the associated artefacts and organic remains will provide valuable evidence about the occupation and social status of the inhabitants. Organic remains surviving within the moat will also provide information about the changes to the local environment and the use of the land after the moated site was constructed. The truncation of the field system by the construction of the moated site provides a valuable insight into the changing use of land in this part of Shropshire during the medieval period. Buried structural, artefactual and organic remains preserved on the adjacent building platform will provide information about the nature and length of use of the buildings constructed here in relation to those that occupied the moated island.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a medieval moated site, with associated ridge and furrow cultivation remains and a building platform. The moated site is situated on level ground overlooking the flood plain of the River Roden. The moat retains water, notably within the western and southern arms, and defines a sub-rectangular island which measures approximately 48m by 100m.

The moat arms are between 10m and 12m wide and are about 1.6m deep. Access onto the island is via a 6m wide causeway situated at the southern end of the eastern arm. There are a series of slight undulations on the island, some of which may relate to the positions of former buildings. Surrounding the moated site on its northern and western sides are the remains of broad cultivation strips - ridge and furrow - orientated east-west, which formed part of a medieval open field. The cultivation remains are clearly earlier than the moated site as it is truncated by it, and a 145m long sample area of this cultivation system is included in the scheduling to preseve this relationship.

Immediately adjacent to the north eastern corner of the moated site are the earthwork remains of a building platform, aligned north-south, approximately 85m long and defined on its eastern side by a scarp up to 0.7m high. A modern farm track has obscured the western side of the platform and its relationship with the field system. The low banks existing on the southern part of the platform are likely to be the remains of walls and the size of the platform suggests that it was used as a base for agricultural or domestic structures.

The farm track and cattle grid, all fence and gate posts, electricty and telegraph poles 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:

33813

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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