Scheduled Monument: Lower Huxley Hall Moated Site (1011796)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Lower Huxley Hall moated site PARISH: HUXLEY DISTRICT: CHESTER COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 13458 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ49796226 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument comprises a most attractive and well maintained moated site the island of which is occupied by Lower Huxley Hall, its gardens and lawns. The island is sub-square and measures c.40m each way. It is surrounded by a waterlogged moat varying in width between 9-14m. The moat is lined by a sandstone wall on its outer edge along the NW and much of the SW arms, and on its inner edge along the NW and NE arms. Access to the island is via a late medieval arched sandstone bridge across the NW arm with secondary access being provided by a sandstone footbridge across the NE arm. There are traces of an outer bank flanking the SE and NE arms, the former c.12m wide, the latter half this width. Huxley was held by the Canons of St Werburgh Abbey, Chester, from whom it passed to the Benedictine Order, although it is uncertain which of their monasteries actually controlled it. After the Dissolution it passed through the hands of various families and was garrisoned for Parliament by Colonel Croxton during the Civil War in 1644. The present house is late 15th century with later additions and alterations. At one time it was provided with a curtain wall thought to have contained a Jacobean formal garden. Lower Huxley Hall and the arched sandstone bridge are both Grade II* Listed. The hall and both bridges, a timber shed and an oil storage tank at the rear of the hall, a service pipe and two associated manholes, and all walls and fences, are excluded from the scheduling. The ground beneath all these features, however, is included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE 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. Lower Huxley Hall moated site survives well and is a good example of the site of a medieval moated manor house. The moat itself is in good condition and remains waterfilled, thus providing conditions suitable for the preservation of organic materials. Additionally remains of both the curtain wall and the earlier Lower Huxley Hall are considered likely to exist beneath the present house and gardens. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 29th October 1991