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Description

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 medieval moated site at Woodhall Hall survives well as a series of earthworks and buried deposits. The artificially raised ground will preserve evidence of land use prior to the construction of the moat. As one of a pair of moated sites it contributes to an understanding of the inter-relationship of contemporary components of the medieval landscape. Details The monument includes the medieval moated site at Woodhall Hall thought to be the site of a manor house. The moat was part of a larger manorial complex, now no longer evident. Woodhall was formerly part of Buckland where in 1086 land was held by the King and the Bishop of Bayeux. The moat encloses a rectangular island measuring approximately 40m by 25m. The moat measures up to 10m in width and 1m deep. A part infilling on the western arm, near the north western corner, may indicate an original point of access to the island, while a causeway crossing the northern moat arm is thought to represent a modern access. The centre of the island is raised indicating the prescence of buried building remains such as the manor house and its outbuildings which will survive here. A second moat formerly survived 30m to the south east of Woodhall. The site is no longer visible and therefore not included in the scheduling. All fence posts are exluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. Sources Books and journals Foster, C W, Longley, T, The Lincolnshire Domesday and the Lincolnshire Survey, (1976) Other NMR, 352769, (1999)

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