Scheduled Monument: Moated Site And Fishpond North East Of Wood Farm (1017838)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Moated site and fishpond north east of Wood Farm PARISH: WOOLSTANWOOD DISTRICT: CREWE AND NANTWICH COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 30360 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ66985590 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a moated site immediately north east of Wood Farm. The north, west and east sides of the moat ditch survive but the south side at its western end has been destroyed by the buildings of a piggery. At the south east corner is a fishpond. The site has been identified as the platform for the manor house owned by the Griffin family during the reign of Henry VIII and later sold to Sir Henry Delves in 1666. The eastern half of the southern side of the moat ditch has been partly infilled to create a roadway along the north side of the farm, but the ditch is still visible and the south east corner survives in the scrub woodland on the south side of the road. Immediately to the south east of the moat corner there is a fishpond which measures 25m by 20m with a narrow annexe on the south west side 25m long and 10m wide. The moat platform measures 97m from west to east and 90m from north to south. It is surrounded by a ditch 12m wide and now about 1.5m deep. The southern ends of the east and west arms of the ditch are waterlogged. The pond is dry except during exceptionally wet weather. All post and wire fences are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath 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 moat at Wood Farm survives well as an earthwork despite regular ploughing. The platform is well defined and the ditches on the west and east sides are waterlogged at the southern end. The platform will retain evidence of the timber and stone buildings which were on this site and the waterlogged ditches will afford good preservation of organic remains. In addition, the fishpond survives as a dry feature to the south east of the moat. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 18th March 1998