Monument record 130/2/0 - Elizabethan formal gardens, Little Moreton Hall

<1> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, 1984, R.Turner (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

Within the moat at Little Moreton Hall are the remains of an Elizabethan formal garden. Geophysical work has attempted (1984) to delineate the original plan. The principal monuments are two prospect mounds. The present knot garden is a C20 restoration based on a Jacobean published example.

<2> 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.

<3> Manchester Metropolitan University, 2022, Report: Ground Penetrating Radar and Topographic Survey, Little Moreton Hall, Congleton, R4787 (Client Report). SCH9630.

In 2022, photogrammetric survey was undertaken for both of the prospect mounds in the grounds of Little Moreton Hall. Additionally, ground penetrating radar survey was carried out over the 'inner' prospect mound, together with the lawn area that immediately surrounds it, as there was debate as to whether the mound was simply the result of dredged material from the moat being dumped on the adjacent lawn. The photogrammetric survey produced 3D models and associated digital elevation plans for each of the two prospect mounds demonstrating that they both have a ‘stepped’ character and sub-rectangular form, which is difficult to appreciate at ground level. This indicates that both mounds were of similar design and purpose. Geophysical anomalies down to circa 0.4m below the ground surface indicate some form of revetting material used to retain the stepping of the mound and prevent subsidence. The radar survey also detected anomalies beneath the lawn to the south of the mound that may be the remains of earlier garden architecture, beds, or pathways.