Monument record 1800/1 - Lea Hall Moat

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ45NW9 (Index). SCH2487.

Moat (Site of Lea Hall). Depicted on OS historic mapping 1842 and 1954. Field visit undertaken 24/11/64 and the following comments made: 'A homestead moat, the W. arm of which has been filled in. It is partly water filled.'

<2> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, 2/766 (Y) (Book). SCH1389.

The hall has been replaced by an ordinary farmhouse. The moat is remaining

<3> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 4/85 (Report). SCH1934.

Current farmhouse built in 1873.

<4> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Ormerod G 1882 2/763-4 (Book). SCH1389.

At Domesday Lea was partly held by the Earl of Chester & Bigot, but the tithes were held by Chester Abbey. It had land for seven ploughs. Roger de Montallt took forcible possession of the Abbot's church in Lea & extorted from him the manor of Lea. His descendants held the manor from Chester Abbey .

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ45NW14 (Index). SCH2487.

SJ 4359: Possible deserted Medieval village at Lea Newbold, mentioned in 1086.

<6> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Turner R C 1985 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

Part of the moated platform has now been destroyed by the building of a substantial silage pit

<7> Reynolds S, 1993, Survey Report - Chester College, /22 - 23 (Unpublished Report). SCH3003.

Distance air photo view - SRW Lea Newbold 3. Full description of Earthworks.

<9> Medieval Settlement Research Group, Various, Medieval Settlement Research Group: Annual Report Series, 7, 1992, 22-3 (Journal/Periodical). SCH7874.

The moat at Lea Hall Farm was one of two moats surveyed in 1992 by students from Chester College. The north, south and east arms of the moat are described as approximately 12m in width, up to 1.5m in depth and are sharply defined as a result of re-excavation. All four sides of the moat are depicted on the OS 1911 map, but the western side was largely in-filled by the 1960s. It was visible as a slight hollow despite having been covered by a large agricultural silo for some time. The moat island is rectangular measuring 52m by 43m. A slight rise in the north-east corner may mark the site of a building shown on the 1839 Tithe Award Map and could represent former 'timber mansion' mentioned by Hughes (1852) and Lyson (1810). A further building may be indicated by a slightly elevated rectangular mound 23m by 14m in the centre of the island. To the north of the moat a linear hollow parallel to the moat arm marks the position of a former boundary.

<10> Professor Emeritus Nick Higham, 2015, Lea Hall Farm Car Park: Report on Archaeological Scheme of Investigation, Stage 1 (Client Report). SCH7871.

Archaeological investigations (two trenches) were undertaken at Lea Hall Farm in March 2015 in advance of the redevelopment and extension of the car parking area. In the northern extent of trench A, a north-south orientated trench located at the western side of the development area, a large cut feature was encountered. This was flat-bottomed, with dimensions of at least 4.5m across (north-south) and approximately 1.7m deep. It is unclear to what extent the feature extended beneath the buildings to the north. Finds retrieved from the feature indicate that it was back-filled in the mid to late 19th century, although it is not clear when it was actually originally excavated. Given that the feature lines up with the southern arm of the scheduled moat to the east it could represent a related arm. However, no such feature is depicted on historic mapping, so it is perhaps more likely to represent a large pit or pond on the southern edge of the post medieval farm.

<10> Professor Emeritus Nick Higham, 2015, Lea Hall Farm, Lea Lane, Aldford, Car Park: Report on Archaeological Watching Brief (Client Report). SCH7872.

<11> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment) (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

The remains of a medieval moated site which was the location of a timber mansion known as Lea Hall. The estate for which this was the manor house appears in the Domesday Book as the property of the Earl of Chester and Bigot of Loges and had lands for seven ploughs. The estate was seized by Roger de Montalt and remained in his family until the death of the last baron in 1277 when it passed to the Crown. In 1337 the manor was granted to the Earl of Salisbury, William Montacute. He sold it to the Calvely family in whose hands it remained until 1714. The house was described as a `fair ancient timber building' before the Civil War and was still `an old timber mansion' in 1810. It is not clear when it was built but it was replaced in 1873 by the present farmhouse 100m to the west. The house was sufficiently magnificent to put up James I and his retinue in 1617. The moat platform is 52m by 43m, surrounded on three sides by a substantial moat, 12m wide and nearly 3m deep at the north western corner where the moat has been deepened by re-excavation. The western arm of this moat was infilled during the 20th century and this will have preserved important silts and organic evidence for the domestic use of the island. The remaining arms were full of water until about 1990 and then drained but some water still collects in the northern arm. On the island there is a roughly rectangular mound 23m by 14m still visible under the turf and this may represent part of the mansion. The remains will also include those of a chapel which used to stand on the platform.

The moat is surrounded by grassland which has some traces of ridge and furrow cultivation. On the north and east sides the road has been diverted to respect the moat. This was the old route from Coddington to Aldford.