Moated site

The National Monuments Service's description

In damp pasture, located on level slightly wet ground with gently rising ground to SW. Views not extensive, best to NE where ground falls away gradually.
Depicted on the 1838 OS 6-inch map as an oval embanked enclosure, and on the 1920 edition as a rectangular hachured enclosure bordered at NW by a field boundary.
Raised trapezoidal platform (43m NW–SE; 20.5m NE–SW at SE end, 28.4m at NW end) defined by a scarp (Wth slope 2.6m at NE, 0.7m at SW; H 1.6m at NE, 0.65m at SW), which is higher/more substantial on the NE side to compensate for the natural fall of ground. At the base of the scarp, an external fosse (Wth 2.5m at SW) is evident on the SE and SW sides as a shallow depression, marked by a growth of yellow flag irises. At the NW, the fosse has been subsumed into the line of a later field drain (Wth 2.6m, base 1.4m; D 1.3m). Outside the field drain, a low rise in ground level extends to NW for c. 15m. An ephemeral rise bordering the outer edge of the fosse on the SW side may indicate a levelled external bank.
The level interior exhibits traces of cultivation ridges on a NNW–SSE axis. The original entrance is unclear. There appears to be a break in the fosse at the SE corner but there is no evidence of a corresponding entrance feature on the platform itself.
This monument may be a moated site or form of earthwork castle. Interestingly, a possible castle (MA091-034----) is shown in roughly this area on a 1720 estate map (NLI Ms 2707).

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 9 February 2022