Scheduled Monument: Great Hall Spinney Moat (1009596)

DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The moat at Great Hall Spinney is located on the north side of the village of Luddington and just to the north-west of the church. The site lies close to Alconbury Brook which supplies water for the moat. The moated site covers an area measuring approximately 150m x 100m. The moat island is surrounded by a ditch on all but its south-eastern side. The ditch varies in depth between 0.5m in the west and 2m in the east and is up to 6m wide in places; the north-eastern arm of the ditch is still waterlogged. An outer bank about 2m high, lies around the north-eastern corner and the northern arm of the moat ditch. On the northern side of this northern arm and divided from the moat ditch by a bank 2m high, lies a long irregular depression which is often waterlogged and is the location of an associated fishpond. Within the moat island is a raised platform indicating the site of a former building; a small modern garden outbuilding is currently sited upon the platform. The moat lies adjacent to, but separate from, the location of the shrunken medieval village of Luddington, the earthworks of which have been levelled and ploughed (not included in the scheduling). Records indicate that this moat was the location of the medieval manor house of the village, and that the house had been abandoned by 1640. The village was documented in both the medieval and post-medieval periods, and was occupied into the last century, when it was much altered. The modern garden outbuildings within the moat island are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath them is included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Around 6,000 moated sites are known in England. They consist of wide ditches, often or seasonally water-filled, partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground on which stood domestic or religious buildings. In some cases the islands were used for horticulture. The majority of moated sites served as prestigious aristocratic and seigneurial residences with the provision of a moat intended as a status symbol rather than a practical military defence. The peak period during which moated sites were built was between about 1250 and 1350 and by far the greatest concentration lies in central and eastern parts of England. However, moated sites were built throughout the medieval period, are widely scattered throughout England and exhibit a high level of diversity in their forms and sizes. They form a significant class of medieval monument and are important for the understanding of the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside. Many examples provide conditions favourable to the survival of organic remains. Great Hall Spinney moat at Luddington represents a good example of a manorial site associated with a well documented village with a long history of occupation. As the moat island is largely undisturbed and the moat ditches are well preserved and partially waterlogged, the monument retains considerable archaeological potential for preserving information concerning the development and decline of the manor house, and about the contemporary environment.

Record last edited

Sep 5 2023 10:25AM