Monument record 130/2/1 - 'Inner' prospect mound lying within Little Moreton Hall moated enclosure

<1> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Turner RC 1984 (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> 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.

<3> 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).

<5> 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.

<6> 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.

<7> 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.

<8> Higham N J, 1984-9, Professor Nick Higham's Aerial Photographs, 1988/1/2/11-12 & 1988/1/5/1A (Aerial Photograph). SCH7659.