Moated site at Gate 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 at Gate Farm survives well and will contain archaeological information concerning the construction of the moat and its occupation during the medieval and early post-medieval periods, including evidence for earlier buildings on the site, predating the present house. It is one of three moated sites which bordered and had access to Cranley Green, the outline of which can still be traced in surviving boundaries. As a group, these represent a good example of greenside settlement characteristic of this area of Suffolk, and are thus of particular interest for the study of medieval settlement in the region. The other two moated sites are the subject of separate schedulings.

Details

The monument includes a moated site located about 220m to the west of the site of Cranley Green. The moat, which ranges in width from approximately 4m on the east side to 10m on the west and is water-filled, surrounds a rectangular island with internal dimensions of about 92m north south by 44m. A shallow depression approximately in the centre of the island marks the site of an internal pond connected to the eastern arm of the moat by a short sluice channel. The pond was probably used originally for the conservation of a stock of fish for domestic consumption. To the north of it is a platform, slightly raised above the level of the ground to the south, on which stands a house which is a Listed Building Grade II, dated to the early 19th century. Access to the island is provided by a causeway across the northern arm of the moat, and there is a second causeway across the eastern arm, towards its northern end, which is a modern feature, not shown on an estate map of 1840. The north east corner of the moat has been enlarged externally to create a pond, but the original line of the moat, which is deeper, is known to survive within it. The pond is also not shown on the map of 1840 and was presumably made at a later date.

The house, a greenhouse and cold frame, raised beds, paving to the rear of the house, the surface of the drive way, garden trellises, a service pole and a sewage processing plant are all excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all 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:

30597

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Maps ... of Farms belonging to Sir Edward Kerrison Source Date: 1840 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: SRO Ref HA68 484/762

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