Monument record 2013/1/1 - Capenhurst moated site

A moat, possibly the site of a manor house. Ormerod suggests it was the seat of the Capenhursts and records that the site is marked by a 'mount included within a moat c.15 yards in diameter, the outside of which is a parallelogram, of which each side measures c. 60 yards, but their outline is considerably altered by the growth of timber and the falling in of earth since the demolition of the edifice' (1).

The moat has now been drained. The outer slopes form a parallelogram, the E & W sides are parallel, the E side being longer than the W. The interior appears to have been roughly square with a small cape some 4m square in the middle of each of the S & W sides. There may have been one on the E side but it is so mutilated as to be unrecognizable. Surface of the interior is much dug about & there is now no trace of any building. The whole site is tree-covered & overgrown (2).

The history of Capenhurst, field names and further description of site, including the ditch and leat feeding the moat, and raised area possibly providing entrance (3).

<1> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Ormerod G 1882 2/570-1 (Book). SCH1389.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ37SE5 1975 (Index). SCH2487.

<3> Quilliam B, 1996, An archaeological study of the moated site at SJ376736 (Unpublished Report). SCH240.