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Moated site at Seven Elms Green, 210m south west of Erratts Farm

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019817
Date first listed:: 08-May-2001

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019817
Date first listed:: 08-May-2001

Location

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

County:: Suffolk
District:: West Suffolk (District Authority)
Parish:: Cowlinge
National Grid Reference:: TL 71529 54954

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 210m south west of Erratts Farm survives well. The island remains undisturbed by post-medieval and modern activity and will retain buried evidence for structures and other features relating to the development and character of the site throughout the periods of occupation. The buried silts in the base of the moat will contain artefacts relating to its occupation. Organic material, including evidence for the local environment in the past, is also likely to be preserved in waterlogged deposits in the moat. Comparisons between this site and other examples, both locally and more widely will provide valuable insights into the development and the nature of settlement in medieval England.

Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site 210m south west of Erratts Farm. The moated site includes a roughly square island measuring an average of 24m across. This is enclosed by a partially waterfilled moat, measuring up to 12m wide and at least 2m in depth. The remains of inlet and outlet channels extend from the southern corner and the south west and north east arms of the moat and are linked to drainage ditches. An outer bank, approximately 6m wide by 1m high and thought to be constructed from material dug from the moat, is visible along the north eastern arm. The causeway across the south western arm of the moat was in use in 1846. The moated site is marked on the 1846 Tithe map as `Moat Plantation'. The fence along the north east side of the moated site is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath 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:: 33303
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Cowlinge Tithe Map Source Date: 1846 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: SRO(Bury):T74/1,2

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 Culture, Media and Sport.