Moated site 680m west of Manor Farm, Kersoe

Overview

Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument

List Entry Number: 1019852

Date first listed: 24-May-1951

Date of most recent amendment: 09-Mar-2001

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

National Grid Reference: SO 98518 40126

Summary

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

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 680m west of Manor Farm, Kersoe survives as a largely undisturbed and well-preserved example of a medieval moat. The apparently undisturbed island will preserve evidence of former structures, including both domestic and ancillary buildings and their associated occupation levels. These remains will illustrate the nature of the site's use and the lifestyle of its inhabitants and will facilitate dating of the construction and subsequent periods of use of the moat.

The moat is expected to preserve earlier deposits including evidence of their construction and any alterations, in addition to information such as pollen and seeds which will provide evidence for the landscape in which it was set.

History

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of the medieval moated site 680m west of Manor Farm, Kersoe. It is located approximately 1km south of the village of Elmley Castle, and approximately 575m east of Castle Hill which is the subject of a separate scheduling. It has been suggested that the moated site is a late medieval replacement for a residence within the bailey of the castle which had been a holding of Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. The site is semi-moated with a rectangular island measuring 60m by 40m. A water-filled moat with an external bank defines the eastern, northern and western sides of the island whilst to the south it is defined by a 1m high bank. The moat arms measure up to 8m wide by 2m deep, and their external bank measures up to 1m high by 2m wide. The island appears largely undisturbed with building stone visible near the south west corner. All modern fencing is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it 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: 31966

Legacy System: RSM

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.