The Mount moated site

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 Mount moated site survives well and is unencumbered by later buildings. Buried deposits on the island are likely to include the remains of medieval structures, and will contain archaeological information relating to the construction and subsequent occupation and use of the moated site. Within the moat, waterlogged deposits will have preserved archaeological remains relating to the occupation and use of the site, along with organic material which will provide information about the economy of the site and the local environment during the medieval period. The moated site lies close to the village church of St Peter's and the large number of footpaths converging on this area suggests the importance of the monument in the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes a moated site, known as The Mount, set on low-lying ground in the Severn Vale. It is visible as a square moat enclosing an island measuring 50m by 48m and orientated north east-south west. The moat varies from approximately 10m to 16m wide and 3m to 4m deep to the surface of the water. The surface of the island is raised about 1.5m above the level of the ground outside the moat and a building platform, about 36m square and 0.5m high, is visible on the island. Between the platform and the inside edge of the moat on all four sides is a slight ditch and bank which is included in the scheduling. The moat narrows slightly in the north west corner. The south west corner of the moated site is abutted by the gateway into the churchyard and may have been the original access to the moat island. The Mount is believed to have been the site of the manor house of the manor of Haresfield, held after the Norman Conquest by Durand, sheriff of Gloucester, and later by the de Bohun family. Although it is not known precisely when The Mount was constructed, a house called `The Mount' was assessed at eight hearths in 1672 and in 1680 was described as `adjoining the great old stone house and shooting towards the moat'. A number of features are excluded from the scheduling; these are the ruins of a small stone building on the north west corner of the island, the wooden footbridge across the north west corner of the moat, all wooden gates, the metal fence to the south and east of the moat and the metal kissing gate at the south east corner; the ground beneath all these features is, however, included. The wooden three-bar fences on the east and west sides of the monument which lie beyond the area of protection are not included in the scheduling.

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:

32365

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Herbert, N M, The Victoria History of the County of Gloucestershire - Westbury and Whitstone Hundreds, (1972), 190-191
Spry, N P, Price, E G, Glevensis in The Mount, Haresfield, Vol. 14, (1980), 29

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