Monument record 1162/1 - Site of Formal Gardens in Astbury

<1> Cheshire County Council, 1974, County Treasures Record, 8/A.156 (Index). SCH1000.

Possible site of a moat in Astbury.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ8461, 1875 (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

This map depicts an earthwork bank enclosing a sub-square area at Glebe Farm. The north-western corner of the earthwork enclosure is not depicted, being either destroyed or obscured by orchards and the buildings associated with Glebe Farm. At the north-eastern corner is a small mound adjacent to the fish pond. A stream channel cuts the bank on it's western side. The area is labelled 'Poolsich'.

<3> The GeoInformation Group, 2005, 1940s RAF Aerial Photographs from Operation Review, ?CPE UK 1935, 17/01/1947 (Aerial Photograph). SCH4608.

The earthwork bank is clearly visible on this aerial photograph.

<4> Cartildge, Rev. J.E. Gordon, 1915, Newbold Astbury and Its History, p.19-21 (Book). SCH2249.

A quadrangle defined by earthwork banks, the north-western corner being bounded by the original terrace of the Old Rectory, c. 360 feet by 280 feet. The banks have been broken through at the western and eastern sides to make a cart track and a watercourse to the farm. The width of the embankments vary, the east being twenty eight feet, the west twenty-three feet, and the north and south twenty feet, with a uniform height of five feet. Internally the north-east corner assumes a rounded form, probably due to the levelling of the usual mound at that point. Argues that these features cannot be associated with the Old Rectory, which also the possible site of the manor house, but in fact represents a tilting ground similar to the one proposed at Gawsworth. Includes plan.

<5> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Edwards R, 23/04/2019 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

The comparison in (4) with the remains of the formal gardens at Gawsworth is useful, but there is little reason to believe that these features represent a tilting ground. The large mound adjacent to the fish pond is probably a prospect mound and the bank a raised walkway or path. These earthworks were probably the remains of a formal garden dating from the sixteenth century and therefore suggest that Glebe Farm (aka the Old Rectory) is the site of the manor house for Astbury manor. The site is now largely developed.