Monument record 1404/2/2 - Moat at The Old Hall, Nether Alderley

<1> Cheshire County Council, 1974, County Treasures Record, 5/A.056 (Index). SCH1000.

Decorative moat at Alderley Old Hall. Formed by adding two arms to the mill pond (CHER 1405/1/2) in the late sixteenth century. Later it formed part of a seventeenth and eighteeth century formal garden with a fixed bridge in place of a drawbridge (see CHER 1404/2/3).

<2> Harrison, W, 1907, The Defensive Earthworks and Fortified Enclosures of Cheshire, p.153 (Article in Journal). SCH8411.

Listed as a homestead moat.

<3> CFA Archaeology Ltd (Manchester), 2024, The Old Hall, Nether Alderley, Cheshire: Archaeological Recording and Monitoring and Historic Building Recording, R4807 (Client Report). SCH9690.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in 2021-2 at the Old Hall in advance of the construction of an extension and dredging of the associated moat and lake. Dredging of silt from the moat revealed stone retaining walls, constructed of sandstone blocks measuring up to 1.1 x 0.4 x 0.4m, which formed the moat walls. Beneath the organic deposit accumulated at the base of the moat, natural geology, a mix of reddish orange and grey clays, were recorded. The moat wall was in generally good condition, surviving around the exterior of the Old Hall. It was of a sturdier condition near the Mill, with buttresses and a greater number of stone courses creating a taller wall. This is indicative of the connection between the Old Hall, its moat, and the Mill. It is possible that the moat was linked to the operation of the Mill, making this site an important domestic and industrial area in the late medieval and early post medieval periods. No evidence of the old access bridge was noted, although a section of natural sandstone bedrock, measuring 1.4m long and 0.3m wide, was recorded, which may have served as a foundation for the bridge.