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 immediately north east of All Saints' Church survives well.
The island is largely undisturbed by post-medieval and modern activity and
will retain buried evidence for structures and other features relating to
former periods of occupation. The buried silts in the base of the moat will
contain artefacts relating to the period of occupation, and organic materials,
including evidence for the local environment in the past, are also likely to
be preserved in waterlogged deposits in the moat.
The location of the moat indicates the high probability that it is the site of
a medieval rectory, and the evidence of the adjacent dovehouse, a feature
generally associated with high status residences, adds to the interest of the
monument.
The pond to the north west of the moat is thought to have been associated with
the moat and perhaps conserved a stock of fish.
Comparative studies between this site and other examples, both locally and
more widely, will provide valuable insights into the development of the nature
of settlement in medieval England.
Details
The monument includes a medieval moated site immediately north east of All
Saints' Church and west of the Old Rectory.
The moated site includes a roughly rectangular island which measures up to 26m
north to south by 32m east to west. This is enclosed on the north, west and
part of the south sides by a seasonally waterfilled moat, measuring up to 8m
wide and at least 1.5m in depth. The east sides and the eastern end of the
south side have been infilled but will survive as buried features.
A rectangular fishpond, shown on the enclosure map of 1852 and measuring a
maximum of 9m long by 4m wide, is situated approximately 7m to the north west
of the moated site and is believed to have originally been connected to it.
The 19th century house to the east of the moated site is the successor to a
house on the moat island. There is a tradition that the moated site was the
site of the Old Rectory. It is recorded as `Hill Piece' on both the 1849 tithe
map of Barnardiston and the 1852 enclosure map, which shows it with four
waterfilled arms and a causeway across the east arm. A field to the south east
is marked as `Dovehouse field' on both maps, suggesting that the moated site
originally supported a house with which the dovehouse was associated.
The wooden fencing around parts of the moat, the wall to the east of the moat
and all modern man-made surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although
the ground beneath these features is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
