Scheduled Monument: Ridge Hall Moated Site And Annexe (1012355)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Ridge Hall moated site and annexe PARISH: SUTTON DISTRICT: MACCLESFIELD COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 13490 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ94047045 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is Ridge Hall moated site and annexe. It is located on a plateau at a height of 230m above sea level. The monument includes an island measuring c.45m x 36m upon which stands Ridge Hall. The island is surrounded on all sides except the northwest by a moat averaging 7m wide x 1.3m deep. This moat is waterlogged in its northeast arm and the northern end of its southeast arm but is elsewhere dry. A short length of the southwest arm has been infilled. An outer bank some 8.5m wide x 0.2m high flanks the southwest arm. A causeway gives access across the southeast arm into a grassy annexe measuring some 50m x 60m that is bordered on three sides by a dry ditch up to 4m wide x 0.4m deep. An outer bank c.6m wide x 0.4m high flanks this ditch. The original house was largely destroyed during the Civil War and replaced by the present smaller building that has 17th, 19th and 20th century additions. Ridge Hall is a Listed Building Grade II. Ridge Hall and its service pipes; all paths, steps and flagged areas; a greenhouse, all walls, fences, hedges, gates and gateposts and a buried electrical cable are all excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath all these features 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. Ridge Hall moated site and annexe is the highest moated site in Cheshire and the only one located on a hillside. The island will contain evidence of the original building beneath the present hall and lawns, and organic material will be preserved within the waterlogged moat. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 17th December 1991