Moated site and fishpond immediately north east of All Saints' Church

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 east of All Saints' Church survives well. The island is largely undisturbed by post-medieval and modern activity and will retain buried evidence for structures and other features relating to former periods of occupation. The buried silts in the base of the moat will contain artefacts relating to the period of occupation, and organic materials, including evidence for the local environment in the past, are also likely to be preserved in waterlogged deposits in the moat. The location of the moat indicates the high probability that it is the site of a medieval rectory, and the evidence of the adjacent dovehouse, a feature generally associated with high status residences, adds to the interest of the monument. The pond to the north west of the moat is thought to have been associated with the moat and perhaps conserved a stock of fish. Comparative studies between this site and other examples, both locally and more widely, will provide valuable insights into the development of the nature of settlement in medieval England.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site immediately north east of All Saints' Church and west of the Old Rectory. The moated site includes a roughly rectangular island which measures up to 26m north to south by 32m east to west. This is enclosed on the north, west and part of the south sides by a seasonally waterfilled moat, measuring up to 8m wide and at least 1.5m in depth. The east sides and the eastern end of the south side have been infilled but will survive as buried features. A rectangular fishpond, shown on the enclosure map of 1852 and measuring a maximum of 9m long by 4m wide, is situated approximately 7m to the north west of the moated site and is believed to have originally been connected to it. The 19th century house to the east of the moated site is the successor to a house on the moat island. There is a tradition that the moated site was the site of the Old Rectory. It is recorded as `Hill Piece' on both the 1849 tithe map of Barnardiston and the 1852 enclosure map, which shows it with four waterfilled arms and a causeway across the east arm. A field to the south east is marked as `Dovehouse field' on both maps, suggesting that the moated site originally supported a house with which the dovehouse was associated. The wooden fencing around parts of the moat, the wall to the east of the moat and all modern man-made surfaces 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:

33313

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Tithe Map and Apportionment of Barnardiston parish Source Date: 1849 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: SRO(Bury): T38/1,2
Title: Barnardiston Enclosure map and Award Source Date: 1852 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: SRO(Bury): E8/1/8

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.

Print the official list entry