Details

The monument includes a moated site, located south of Hasketon village, 450m
from St Andrew's Church, on a north-facing hill slope. The sub-rectangular
central island, which has maximum internal dimensions of 65m north-south by
48m east-west, is surrounded by a moat approximately 2m deep and ranging from
6m to 9m in width. The site therefore has maximum dimensions of approximately
80m by 62m. A wide, central causeway across the western arm of the moat gives
access to the interior and plans of the site show another causeway across the
opposite, eastern arm, although this is probably not original. A pipe beneath
the causeway connects the two parts of the western arm. The eastern arm to the
north of this second causeway has now been filled in but it survives as a
buried feature. The rest of the moat is water-filled by surface drainage and a
field ditch on the north side takes the overflow. On the southern edge of the
site, the moat has been terraced so that the outer bank of the southern arm
stands more than 1m higher than the surface of the interior.
In the Court Rolls between 1467 and 1606 there are a number of references to
the rectory manor and the rector and holder of the manor in 1542 is recorded
as one Thomas Tomson.
The house, which stands on the north side of the central platform, is of 19th-
century date and Listed Grade II. It is excluded from the scheduling,
together with the associated outbuildings, all fences within and on the
boundary of the site, the driveway, all service pipes and inspection chambers,
a service pole which stands on the central platform, and a modern wooden
footbridge across the southern arm of the moat, but the ground beneath all
these buildings and features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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 at The Old Rectory survives well as an example of a moated
site which combined the functions of a rectory and a manor. It will retain
important archaeological information concerning its construction and use
during the medieval and early post-medieval periods.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Copinger, W A, History of the Manors of Suffolk, (1909)
Other
Pendlebury, Mrs M H, (1992)

Source: Historic England