Brownings moated site

Summary

Medieval moated site including moat, island, internal and external banks and part of feeder channel.

Reasons for Designation

The moated site at Brownings is scheduled for the following principal reasons.
* Rarity: this type of site is rare in the north west Low Weald of West Sussex;
* Survival: both the moat and island survive well and the site has additional features including banks to the rim of the moat and island and a feeder channel to the moat;
* Potential: there is good evidence for survival of both archaeological evidence and organic material.

History

About 6,000 moated sites are known in England. They consist of wide ditches, often water-filled (sometimes seasonally) 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 seigniorial 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 understanding the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside. Many examples provide conditions favourable to the survival of organic remains.

Moated sites tend to be found in areas of clay soils where the clay forms a sealant for the moat. The moated site at Brownings is one of only two in the north west Low Weald of West Sussex.

Mr H Nicholls, the grandfather of the present owner, bought Brownings and Hyffold in the 1850s and farmed them both as Brownings. The earliest part of Brownings farmhouse, which lies about 0.26 km to the WNW, is thought to date from the C16. Mr A Nicholls, the father of the present owner, dug the moated site sporadically pre-1939 with the local historian G H Kenyon F S A and discovered broken roof tiles and charred layers on the island suggesting a timber house once stood there and had burned down. Notes on the site were apparently written by Kenyon, but they are not amongst his collection of works in the Sussex Archaeological Collection.

When the moat was cleaned in 2009 a continuous line of broken tile, about 8m long, was seen in the bottom of the moat. The cleaning stopped at this level and did not excavate beyond the layer of tile.

Two ponds in the vicinity, Cowsfield Pond 0.09km to the west of the moated site and Kiln Platt Pond 0.23km to the east may be old fishponds, but evidence that they are contemporary or have direct association with the moated site cannot be demonstrated. These ponds have been recently dredged and will retain little archaeological evidence. Worked flints have also been found on the farm.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated earthwork site lying on a gentle east-facing slope on a tributary of the River Kird. The moat is fed by a small stream which enters at the north-west corner and leaves at the north-east.

The moated site, aligned north-south, includes a central, roughly square island c 38m square surrounded by the moat. The island is about 0.3m higher than the surrounding ground beyond the moat, and has a slight bank visible particularly on the north and east sides. The moat takes the form of a water-filled ditch, and varies from 1m to 2m deep and is about 4m wide although increases and decreases in its circuit around the island so that on the west side it is about 6m wide. A slight bank, 3m wide, on the outer side of the moat can be seen best to the north and at the north-west corner. There is a 4m wide channel, now dry, which leads towards the moat from the west and appears to have once been the main feeder channel. Part of this is included in the scheduled area.

The moat, which lies in woodland, was water-filled at the time of the inspection (2010) and it can be presumed that these waterlogged conditions will preserve organic remains in the bottom and sides of the moat. There are a number of trees on the island, one of which has fallen over with its roots exposed. The roots of these trees will cause disturbance to the buried remains of the manor house which will exist on the island. There is broken tile, sandstone lumps and the infilled remains of a number of old excavation trenches visible on the island. The moat has been dredged in the recent past, but tile can still be seen in the moat itself. Some of the upcast from the dredging has been spread beyond the east side of the moat.

Within the wood and beyond the moated site are sandstone fragments which are not natural to the site. In addition other amorphous slight earthwork features were observed in the wood which may be contemporary with the medieval site or may be later and associated with woodland management. As their nature is not fully understood, these are not included in the scheduling. Drainage channels to the moat from higher ground to the north and west have been recently re-cut and are also not included in the scheduled area. Ponds, which may have been fish ponds, lie to the west, east and north-east of the moated site, but are not included in the scheduling because they are not directly associated with the moat and are of unknown date.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The area of archaeological interest includes the island, the moat, part of the channel which approaches the moat from the west side, the bank on the north and north-west rim of the moat and a margin of protection of 2m around all these archaeological features. The area therefore has a maximum width of 53m and a maximum length of 55m.

Sources

Other
West Sussex CC HER No 2924 - MWS5588,
National Monument Record card Antiquity No 2924 TQ 02 SW 13,

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