Monument record 1995/1/2 - Stanney Old Hall Medieval Moat

<1> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Ormerod G 1882 2/393-4 (Book). SCH1389.

Ormerod described Hall as being 'built of timber & surrounded by enormous barns still standing…the whole being encompassed by a moat'.

<2> Cheshire County Council, 1989, Archaeological Survey and Evaluation at Old Hall Farm, Little Stanney, R2002 (Client Report). SCH4203.

Small scale excavations and a topographic survey of earthworks to the north of Old Hall Farm, the site of the medieval moat, were undertaken in 1989 prior to their destruction through a scheme of landscaping. Old Hall was the seat of the Bunbury family from the mid 14th century until the beginning of the 18th century. The best cartographic evidence for moat is Tithe Award of 1845 which shows water-filled ditches on all sides except the north. Later OS mapping (1875) depicts the moat as a hollow to the north and a single scarp on the line of the southern arm.

The topographic survey was undertaken by the RCHME. The earthworks are observed to be poor in preservation and confined to the rear of the existing farm. The area had been subject to puddling/ponding and ploughing. However, some earthworks possibly representing elements of the moat were recorded, most significantly a hollow thought to represent the remains of the southern arm of the moat. Other earthworks recorded to the north-west of the moat were interpreted as the flattened remnants of broad ridge and furrow.

The evaluation comprised a single trench, 1.4m wide and 34m long, and positioned across the section of the moat platform thought most likely to survive. However, the deposits revealed were associated extensively with the construction, levelling and use of the 19th century farm, although the topographic survey indicated that remains of the moat in the excavated area may have been obliterated by later ponding. All the finds recovered were of 19th and 20th century date.

<3> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 1996, An Archaeological Evaluation at Old Hall Farm, Little Stanney, Ellesmere Port, R2162 (Client Report). SCH4053.

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken at Old Hall Farm, Little Stanney, in November and December 1996, prior to a programme of conversion and extension. The re-development site was located within a the moated enclosure. Three evaluation trenches were excavated. Medieval and post medieval features and deposits were observed but no positive trace of the Old Hall (see monument 1995/1/1) was encountered. Parts of timber structures, dating probably to the late medieval and post medieval periods were recorded, but these were considered to be associated with ancilliary buildings. The remains of the earlier hall potentially lie beneath the present building (see monument 5634). The line of the south arm of the moat was identified but the results indicate that it was cleared out during the eighteenth century and this appears to have removed trace of the earlier moat circuit.