Moat Yards 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 inner moat of Moat Yards moated site survives well and, although the surface of the central platform has been disturbed by cultivation, the monument as a whole, including the fill of both the inner moat and the section of the buried outer moat which is included in the scheduling, will retain archaeological information concerning their construction and subsequent occupation during the medieval period. Organic materials, including evidence for the local environment in the past, are also likely to be preserved in the waterlogged deposits of the moat. The location of the moat and outer enclosure on the edge of a village green gives the monument additional interest.

Details

The monument includes a moated site and the buried remains of part of an associated outer enclosure, located on the south side of Mill Common. The inner moat, which is approximately 15m wide on the north and east sides, narrowing to 10m on the south, remains open to a depth of about 1.6m and is wet in the southern part. It surrounds a central platform raised up to 0.7m above the prevailing ground level and measuring approximately 53 sq m. A dished causeway about 7m wide which provides access to the interior across the southern arm of the moat is probably not an original feature. The inner moat is partly surrounded by a second moat about 12m wide which has been infilled but will survive as a buried feature. The northern arm of this outer moat ran parallel to the northern arm of the inner moat and about 15m from it, and the buried remains of the part of this feature which lies opposite the inner moat, together with the ground between, are included in the scheduling. Moat Yards was probably the site of a medieval manor house. Four such manors are recorded in Westhorpe, all of which were united under one ownership in the 16th century.



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:

30573

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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