Summary
Buried archaeological remains of the primary residence of the de Birmingham family with its encircling infilled moat, probably constructed shortly after the granting of Birmingham's market charter in 1166.
Reasons for Designation
The de Birmingham moated site, seat of the medieval Lords of Birmingham, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Period: as a relatively early moated site, predating the mid-C13 to C14, the peak period for the construction of moats nationally. The moat forms one of the focus points of the early development of the urban centre, and is likely to have influenced the development of similar monuments nationally;
* Potential: previous archaeological recording has demonstrated the survival of substantial structural stonework, preserved organic remains, including timbers related to another structure, and extensive waterlogged deposits in-filling the moat providing insights into the local environment. As the seat of the Lords of Birmingham, a focus of the early urban development in the medieval period, the monument will retain key information about Birmingham's economy, society and environment in the medieval period.
History
The city of Birmingham has modest origins: the Doomsday Survey of the late 1080s recorded it as a small settlement of just nine peasant households. By the mid-C12 it was the principal seat of the de Birmingham family, with Peter, son of William de Birmingham, being granted a charter in 1166 giving the right to hold a regular market. This made Birmingham the first settlement in Warwickshire to obtain such a charter, there being at least 40 Warwickshire settlements having this privilege by the mid-C14. In 1250 Birmingham was also granted the right to hold an annual fair and, although still very rural in character, appears to have started developing craft industries alongside its development as a market centre. By the early C14 there is documentary evidence that good quality metalwork, referred to as ‘Birmingham pieces’, were generally known of in London, suggesting that Birmingham was developing a national reputation. However, it was not a borough, did not attract the establishment of a significant monastic community or other major ecclesiastical establishment beyond that of St Martin’s parish church, nor were any significant medieval fortifications constructed. The de Birmingham family remained within the lower ranks of landholding feudal society, generally characterised as a major knightly family of a status just below that of the baronetcy, only once being summoned to Parliament. De Birmingham was a relatively unusual family for its longevity and stability of control over its principal seat, holding Birmingham for four hundred years until it was forfeited to the Crown in 1536. The moated site was the family’s principal residence.
Around 6,000 moated sites are known in England characterised by wide ditches, generally water-filled, partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground usually occupied by buildings. The majority of moated sites served as prestigious aristocratic and feudal lordship 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 with the greatest concentration lying 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 represent a significant class of medieval monument and are important for the understanding of the distribution of wealth and status across the country in the medieval period. The often well-preserved waterlogged deposits of moat ditches are a particularly important archaeological resource.
Medieval Birmingham had two moated sites, both constructed on the spring line along the south side of the sandstone ridge along which the settlement initially developed. The Parsonage Moat, some 250m west of the area, on the west side of the north end of Pershore Street, has been tentatively identified as a possible late Saxon manor house site. The 1166 grant to Peter de Birmingham refers to his ‘castle… which stood a scarce bow shot from the church, south westwards’ appears to refer to the Parsonage Moat. The moat that is the subject of this scheduling lies to the south-east of the medieval church of St Martin. Archaeological finds of pottery and architectural stonework indicate that this moated site is likely to have been constructed in the late C12, quite possibly using revenue resulting from the 1166 grant for a market. The stonework clearly indicates that the moated site was of a high status, including at least one substantial stone-built structure, the only other medieval stone building in Birmingham being St Martin’s Church. Evidence of all other known medieval buildings in Birmingham indicate that they were timber-framed. Although there are no known medieval manorial records for Birmingham, the moated site is mentioned in a number of other documents, mainly concerning various legal cases. The moated site is described in C16 surveys, clearly identifying it as the principal residence of the manor, although the buildings are described as being much decayed. In the C18 the moated site was tenanted by the Francis family who built a new mansion house on the island in the 1730s. A series of different tenants for the moated site are recorded from 1767 until 1780 when the lease was taken by Thomas Francis who developed a coffin nail making business on the site. Other industrial enterprises developed around the site, particularly following a 1766 Act of Parliament obtained by the owner, Sir Thomas Gooch, which allowed the area between the moat and the River Rea to the south to be built up. Various plans and illustrations of Birmingham, mainly from the C18, depict the buildings surrounded by the moat ditch. The most detailed illustration is an 1814 watercolour of the moated site painted by Hamper from a viewpoint just to the south-east, this depicting eight buildings, including one that appears to be timber framed and likely to have been medieval.
In 1815-16 the site was cleared of all of its buildings and the moat infilled to form Smithfield Market, an open-air livestock market. In 1881-1883 a covered wholesale fruit and vegetable market was constructed on the site with a glass roof supported on iron columns and brick outer walls, this being extended twice before the First World War. This was demolished and redeveloped into a new market complex in the 1970s. The area of the moated site was the subject of a salvage watching brief by Lorna Watts of Birmingham City Museum in 1973-1975. Watts observed the excavation of foundation works across the site as they were dug before being swiftly filled in with concrete, these works mainly impacting the far south-western side of the moated site. Detailed archaeological recording was highly constrained by the construction process, but nonetheless significant archaeological evidence was collected that demonstrated the archaeological potential of the ground immediately adjacent to the 1970s foundations and the surrounding area. This included substantial, high-quality sandstone ashlar walling dated typologically to the C12-C13, incorporating a length of earlier walling; part of a second structure represented by a set of 15 wooden stakes preserved in situ close to the site of the causeway across the moat shown on early maps; a finds assemblage including medieval architectural stonework and pottery; and a sequence of deposits within the infilled moat extending back to the C12-C13. However, most of the foundation trenches only extended deep enough to expose post-medieval infills, the bottom of the moat ditch not being reached. Only a small sample of moat deposit was subjected to detailed laboratory analysis, this sample being dated to around the C16-C17, but this also demonstrated the archaeological potential of the site: it retained preserved organic remains which indicated that the surroundings were largely rural in nature (evidence of arable, pasture and heath, including woody thickets or hedgerows) in the early post-medieval period. In 2000 a watching brief for building work at The Row identified a section of the moat ditch on the northern side, identifying C12-C13 pottery from the lowest deposits. Small-scale evaluation excavation in 2020-2021 by Cotswold Archaeology excavated down to the uppermost undisturbed archaeological level. In most areas this was post-medieval, potentially sealing and concealing earlier deposits including medieval remains. However, the evaluation did uncover the uppermost part of a section of the high-quality sandstone ashlar walling that had been exposed in the 1970s, as well as an associated area of stonework interpreted as foundations for a stone floor not identified previously. Also identified were two further timber stakes demonstrating the potential for the preservation of further organic remains.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: medieval moated site surviving as buried remains, representing the primary residence of the de Birmingham family, lords of Birmingham from the mid-C12 to 1536, the moated site probably constructed shortly after 1166.
DESCRIPTION: the moated site now lies within the urban area of Birmingham city centre, just downhill and centred approximately 150m south-east of the medieval church of St Martin. Although the full ground plan of the moated site has not been observed archaeologically, taken from C18 map depictions, the site is roughly circular, slightly elongated north-south, the island being approximately 60-70m in diameter, the moat ditch being up to about 10m wide on the northern side and nearly 40m wide on the southern side. The overall dimensions of the moated site, including its defining moat, is around 110m north-south and 90m east-west.
The extensive concrete foundations constructed in the 1970s are shown by Watts (1980) to have mainly impacted the south-western side of the moated island, extending a maximum of 20m from the island’s edge, leaving about three quarters of the island undisturbed. Cotswold Archaeology (plotting the position of the moated site approximately 10m further south-westwards) suggests that nearly half of the island was impacted by the 1970s foundations. In either case the site of the timber-framed building shown in the 1814 watercolour by Hamper will lie within an area that is not known to have been impacted in the 1970s. The substantial stone structure that was uncovered in the 1970s extends about 11m north-west to south-east, incorporating a buttress, with north-eastern returns at both ends extending around 4m. Up to 8 courses of ashlar stonework standing to 2.5m and incorporating three chamfered courses were observed in the 1970s, all being of finely cut and tooled red sandstone showing little evidence of weathering. In 2021, a 2.2m wide trench was opened crossing the line of this wall, exposing the upper 1.5m of the structure demonstrating its continued survival and confirming its location. This also identified the inner face of the wall along with an adjacent layer of stone interpreted as possible foundations for a stone-flagged floor – these remain in situ. The top of the earlier wall embedded within this structure, observed in the 1970s as being more roughly built, but surviving to a height of 2m, was also re-exposed in 2021. The second structure observed in the 1970s was observed in the side of a foundation trench, most of the structure considered to extend into ground that was not excavated or disturbed. This structure was identified from a clustered group of 15 timber stakes each around 1m long with pointed ends driven into the natural on the inner edge of the moat ditch, on the south-eastern side of the island. The two timber stakes identified in 2021 were in a different location, on the western side of the moated island, this demonstrating the continued survival of organic remains on the site.
The watching brief at The Row in 2000 measured the surviving depth of the moat, on the north side of the island, as being between 2.5 to 3m. The depth of survival of deposits on the southern side of the moated site is thought to be greater as the ground surface on the northern side of the site is understood to have been truncated by terracing in advance of the construction of market buildings both in the later C19 and C20. However, trial trenching at The Row in 1999-2000 identified a medieval pit surviving 2m below the modern ground surface. This demonstrates the potential for other surviving medieval deposits in addition to the moat ditch, even in an area where the ground surface is believed to have been lowered in the C19 and C20.
EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: the scheduled area includes the remains of the moated site with a 5m buffer.
EXCLUSIONS: all modern surfaces and street furniture are excluded from the scheduling.
