Moated site in Hall Garth Park

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.

Despite limited landscaping undertaken when the monument was included in the park golf course, the moated site in Hall Garth Park survives reasonably well. The island is unencumbered by modern building and will retain evidence of the buildings which occupied it.

Details

The monument is the moated site at the western end of Hall Garth Park. It includes a sub-rectangular island enclosed by a dry moat and in part by an earthen bank. The moat is visible as an earthwork feature on the western, northern, and eastern sides; on the southern side it has been largely in-filled. The island measures 70m long, east-west, and 40m wide, north-south, overall. The visible arms of the moat are between 15m and 20m wide and up to 2m deep. The southern arm of the moat has been almost completely in-filled, with only a short section of the western end visible; the remainder of the arm will however survive as a buried feature. A gravel path has been laid along the bottom of the northern arm. The moat is crossed by two causeways; one at the north-east corner and the other across the eastern arm. Neither is thought to be an original crossing point. An earthen bank is visible immediately outside and adjacent to the moat's northern arm, it is 5m wide and up to 1m high. A bank is also visible immediately within the eastern arm of the moat. It is 0.4m high and 3m wide. The moat was the site of the rectory of Hornsea's parish church which, during the Middle Ages, was owned by the Abbey of Saint Mary in York. The church lies immediately to the south of the moated site. The house which stood on the island was sold during the reign of James I (1603-1625). This house had been demolished by 1787, by which time a new vicarage had been built to the south of the moated site. The site was incorporated into the town's public park in the nineteenth century, and was later used as a feature in a golf course, one of the park's facilities.

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:

21202

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Bulmer, T, History and Directory of East Yorkshire, (1892), 430
Poulson, G, History and Antiquities of Holderness, (1841), 333
Le Patourel, H E J, Moated site of Yorkshire, (1973), 113

End of official list entry

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