Scheduled Monument: Kinderton Hall Moated Site, Two Annexes, Five Fishponds, Garden And Prospect Mound (1012358)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Kinderton Hall moated site, two annexes, five fishponds, garden and prospect mound PARISH: MIDDLEWICH SPROSTON DISTRICT: CONGLETON VALE ROYAL COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 13492 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ70806702 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is the moated site of the original Kinderton Hall. It includes a large area containing a complex system of earthworks that includes two annexes, five fishponds, a garden and prospect mound. The raised grassy island measures c.47m x 45m. It has an undulating surface with a low raised platform in its western half. A dry shallow moat c.10m wide x 0.5m deep surrounds the island. To the west and north is a complex area of banks, ditches and platforms through which runs a causeway from the west that gives access to the island's northwest corner. A shallow waterlogged outer moat 4- 7m wide x 0.5m deep runs around the eastern and northern sides. North of this outer moat is a grassy annexe measuring up to 120m x 50m with a shallow dry ditch c.10m wide on its eastern side. A second grassy annexe measuring some 105m x 75m lies east of the moated site and contains low earthworks towards its southern end and at its northwest corner. Further earthworks lie east of this annexe. A waterlogged fishpond measuring up to 65m x 45m lies southwest of the present Kinderton Hall. A linear set of three dry fishponds lie on the monument's western side - the southerly one measures c.45m x 20m x 0.9m deep, the central one measures c.45m x 25m x 0.9m deep, and the northerly one measures c.55m x 18m x 0.9m deep. A dry fishpond some 69m x 20m x 1.5m deep lies at the northern end of the annexe north of the moated site and is connected to the northerly end of the linear set of fishponds by a dry channel c.70m long x 9m wide x 0.5m deep. A prospect mound c.30m dia. X 3.5m high lies close to the monument's southwest corner immediately east of the southerly of the linear set of fishponds. A large grassy area to the west of Kinderton Hall and lying south of the moated site contains a series of earthworks comprising low banks, ditches and enclosures that originally formed a garden. Kinderton was mentioned in the Domesday Book when a castle existed here. It was later succeeded by a moated hall that was occupied by the Venables family who held the Barony of Kinderton throughout the medieval period. The hall was demolished during the late 19th century but its foundations are known to survive beneath the modern ground surface. The present Kinderton Hall is an early 18th century farmhouse and a Listed Building Grade II*. It lies some 100m southeast of the moated site. Kinderton Hall, its outbuildings, farmyard, driveways, paths, all service pipes, field boundaries, gateposts, telegraph poles, a timber shed and a large brick trough 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. The monument is a rare and unusual example of a well preserved medieval moated site accompanied by an extensive and complex series of earthworks. The complexity of these remains demonstrates well the diversity which may be exhibited by this monument class. Most of the monument is unencumbered by modern development and the site will possess considerable remains of the medieval Kinderton Hall and also the castle known to have occupied the area prior to construction of the moated site. Additionally organic material will be preserved in the waterlogged fishpond and outer moat. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 20th December 1991