Monument record 130/1/0 - Little Moreton Hall moated site

<1> Historic England, 2011, The National Heritage List for England, 1011879 (Web Site). SCH6528.

Little Moreton Hall moated site is one of the finest examples of a medieval moated manor house in England. The site includes an island c.70m x 50m containing the timber-framed Little Moreton Hall (CHER 130/1/1), lawns, ornamental shrubs, gravel paths, a prospect mound (CHER 130/2/1), and the knot garden - a 20th century restoration of an Elizabethan garden. Surrounding the island is a waterlogged moat c.10m wide flanked on its W side by a low outer bank c.2m wide x 0.2m high. Access to the island is by a low sandstone bridge across the moat's S arm that leads to the S gatehouse. At this point the moat sides are revetted. A second prospect mound (CHER 130/2/2) lies outside the moat close to the SW corner. Little Moreton Hall was first mentioned in 1271. The present structure evolved from the early 15th century to c.1600 and is currently owned by the National Trust and open to the public. Little Moreton Hall and the bridge allowing access across the moat are Grade 1 Listed. Little Moreton Hall, its courtyard and bridge, all service pipes, fences and gravel paths are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath all these features is included. Original buildings are likely to survive on the island beneath the present Elizabethan house and gardens. Additionally organic remains will survive in the waterlogged moat.

<2> Wilson D et al, 1973-1986, Moated Sites Research Group Records (Paper Archive). SCH2205.

The moat is water filled and encloses a platform of 70m by 50m (3,500 sq.m in area) and is crossed by a low stone C16 bridge, located in the southern gatehouse range. At this point the moat sides are revetted.

<3> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, Vol II, p.306 (Book). SCH3228.

Little Moreton Hall, the most famous and picturesque timber framed manor house in England. The manor was first mentioned in documentary sources in 1271 and the moat may be of that date.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1911-1914, Ordnance Survey Second Revision County Series (Epoch 3) 6 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire (Maps and Plans). SCH3843.

A north-south aligned linear earthwork is visable on the 3rd edition OS, to the west of the moat. It may curve east at its southern end and may correspond with linear cropmark CSMR 130/3/1. Two further earthworks lie between this feature and the moat.

<5> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment), 25/11/1991 (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

The Little Moreton Hall moated complex was scheduled in 1991 and includes the moated island, moat, moat outer bank, and the two prospect mounds (one within the moat and the other lying to the south-west of the moat).

<6> English Heritage, Various, Scheduled Monument Consent Letter, Two letters dated 24/02/1992 and 02/02/2010 (Written Communication). SCH2963.

Scheduled monument consent letters for proposed works.

<7> National Trust, 1992, National Trust: Annual Archaeological Abstracts, 1992, p.73-86 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3874.

During renovation and development works at Little Moreton Hall in 1990-2, a service trench was cut through the north-east corner of the 'outer' prospect mound, to a depth of 1.6m. This revealed a good stratigraphic sequence in an area suspected to contain traces of a greater garden, sealed under silt upcast from the moat. A well buried roughly cobbled roadway, which approached the site from the south-west, was also discovered. It is probable that this is an antecedent to the existing C16th stone bridge located off centre. No garden features were encountered. A small excavation (230m2) was undertaken within an area that had been previously evaluated (1990), prior to the construction of the service building. The site straddled the ancient divide between the hall precinct and the farm curtillage and took the form of a low, spread sandy bank, which had been subject to C18th dumping. The area was excavated down only as far as the floor slab and sixteen stanchion holes required. The earliest deposit observed, sealed below a layer of silty soil, was a buried topsoil with brick and charcoal inclusions, tentatively suggesting a C15th date for the moat. The upper deposit contained artefactual material dating to 1875-1900, including building debris which is probably from repairs undertaken in 1897-8.

<8> University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 2001, Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire: Archaeological Landscape and Building Survey Work on the Estate. (Client Report). SCH4230.

The Morton family were powerful local lords from the thirteenth century; they served as mayors of Congleton and collected taxes for the King. Between the mid-fifteenth century and circa 1580 the family double their estate by buying surplus land which was available as a result of the impact of the Black Death in 1348 and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s-40s. The wealth of the family is reflected in the extensive rebuilding of the hall during circa 1440-1580. An inventory of Moreton lands (1636) includes the following assets:- the 'lower mill', the 'mill at the hall', ponds, woodlands and moss land. The decline of the estate began in the seventeenth century when parts of the estate were sold and, from the early eighteenth century, Little Moreton Hall was let to a succession of tenant farmers and would remain tenanted for the next 200 years.

<9> Allen Archaeological Associates, 2009, Archaeological Evaluation Report: Earth Resistance and Fluxgate Gradiometry Survey at Little Moreton Hall, Congleton, Cheshire, R2899 (Client Report). SCH5189.

Geophysical surveys were undertaken within the orchard at Little Moreton Hall as a condition of Scheduled Monument Consent. Earth resistance survey identified a previously unknown trackway running east - west across the site, and possible revetting associated with the construction of the prospect mound in the north east corner of the orchard; several former services running across the site were also noted. Magnetic survey indicated that the prospect mound is unlikely to have been built using slag from a nearby bloomery furnace, as had been suggested from a reported find of slag on the mound.

<10> Allen Archaeology Limited, 2009, Archaeological Test Pit Evaluation Report: The Orchard at Little Moreton Hall, Congleton, Cheshire, R2926 (Client Report). SCH5209.

In 2009 a series of archaeological test pits were excavated in the area of the orchard at Little Moreton Hall to assess the damage that might be caused by the anchoring of marquees. The earliest deposit encountered was a natural drift deposit of sand, this was between 0.6-0.75m below ground surface in the southern half of the site and 0.85m below ground surface in the north, suggesting a gradual deepening of deposits from south to north. The earliest archaeological evidence was a series of postholes and gullies/beam slots at depth within pits 4,6, 8 and 10; these were sealed by a layer of grey/brown silt/silty-clay 0.26-0.4m deep. Sealing this horizon was a thin spread of brown clay thought to potentially be the result of cleaning of the moat, an event that could be linked to the construction of the existing hall. The clay layer was sealed by a silty clay layer containing finds dating to the 17th to 19th centuries. Significantly, the early cut features are thought to be the remains of early timber structures pre-dating the existing hall (recorded separately as CHER 130/2/3).

<11> Higham N J, 1984-9, Professor Nick Higham's Aerial Photographs, 1988/1/2/11-12 & 1988/1/5/1A (Aerial Photograph). SCH7659.

<12> Allen Archaeological Associates, 2012, New Visitor Services and Cable Trench at Little Moreton Hall, Congleton, Cheshire: Archaeological Watching Brief Report, R3300 (Client Report). SCH6742.

An archaeological watching brief in 2011-2 monitored the excavation of a cable trench to the east of the Little Moreton Hall moated enclosure and also groundworks associated with the extension of the existing ticket office including services and drainage to the south-west. The eastern cable trench excavations exposed a single pit or ditch containing late Roman pottery, also late medieval dumped deposits, along with stone and brick walls and a culvert forming part of a range of outbuildings shown on historic maps from the late 19th century and demolished during the later 20th century. An undated possible headland and boundary wall was also exposed, as well as a ditch defining a boundary shown on maps from the late 19th to late 20th century. The ticket office extension area and associated drainage revealed a sequence of dumped deposits or levelling layers possibly related to the construction of the adjacent Prospect Mound (that lying to the south-west of the moat) and the cleaning out of the moat.