Moated site immediately south of Pinhoe Hall

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 south of Pinhoe Hall survives well. The island is largely undisturbed and will retain buried evidence for structures and other features relating to its occupation. The buried silts in the base of the moat will contain artefacts relating to the period of occupation. Organic materials, including evidence for the local environment in the past, are also likely to be preserved in waterlogged deposits. Comparisons between this site and other examples, both locally and more widely, will provide valuable insights into the development and the nature of settlement and society in the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site immediately south of Pinhoe Hall, situated on a spur overlooking the village of Hundon to the north. The moated site includes a roughly rectangular island, measuring up to 110m east-west by 34m north-south. This is surrounded by a partly waterfilled moat measuring an average 12m in width and 1.5m in depth. The causeway across the north arm of the moat is thought to represent the original access to the island. The moat on either side of the causeway has been partly infilled and the causeway widened, although the moat will survive here as a buried feature. Metal plates, acting as barriers between the open and partly infilled areas of the moat, were added when this section of the moat was infilled. Evidence for buildings includes the remains of a brick wall recorded in 1977 along the southern face of the island, and large quantities of medieval brick and tile were found in the southern arm of the moat and on the surface of the island. The present Pinhoe Hall dates from at least the 18th century and is thought to represent a successor to an earlier house on the island. Pinhoe Hall is not included in the scheduling. The moated site is believed to represent the manor of Purowe, formerly known as Penowe or Gorreles Hall, where in 1315 Hugh Gorell held quarter of a fee and in 1425 Walter de Gazeley held half a fee. `Pynner Hall' is marked on Hodskinson's 1783 Map of Suffolk. The glasshouse, the bridge across the south arm and the jetty overlying the south arm of the moat are all 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:

33301

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Copinger, W, The Manors of Suffolk in Hundon, Vol. 5, (1909), 253
Charge, B, Haverhill and District Arch. Soc. Newsletter in Pinhoe Hall Moat, Vol. 3, (1977)

Other
Title: Hodskinson's Map of Suffolk Source Date: 1783 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: SRO(Bury): T19/1,2
Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, (1979)

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