Details

The monument includes a moated site, situated on a low coastal ridge to the east of the settlement of Bude, between the River Neet and the coast. The moat defines a roughly-rectangular interior of approximately 0.15 ha. It is mostly dry and up to 2.2m deep with a partial inner bank of up to 3m wide and 0.3m high. There are surrounding outer banks of up-cast material on three sides, two of which have been re-used as field boundaries. The interior contains a series of mounds, hollows and some fragmentary walling.

The moated site is thought to be the site of 'Bynnamy' or 'Binamy Castle', built in around 1335 by Ralph de Blanchminster, Lord of the Manor of Stratton, who had been granted a license to castellate his mansion at Binhamy. It was later spoken of as the seat of Sir J Colshill by William Worcester and subsequently described as 'Ruyned aunient seate of the Grenviles' by Norden in around 1600. Borlase identified it as a Roman camp in around 1750 but by 1814 Lysons, and later Gilbert (1820), identified it as the mansion house of the Blanchminsters. In use as an orchard by 1750 it remained so until the late 19th century.

Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-31882

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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. The moated site 415m west of Binhamy Farm survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, longevity, social organisation, domestic arrangements, re-use, abandonment and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England