Details

The site at Claybrooke Parva is situated 50m west of the church and includes a
moated site with adjoining enclosure and trackway.

Three sides of a square moated area measuring approximately 60m x 60m can be
identified at the eastern end of the monument. The northern and western arms
of the moat remain water-filled and 12m wide. The western arm extends
northwards for a few metres beyond the corner. The eastern arm is almost
completely infilled but was of the same width. In the south-east and
south-western corners are causewayed entrances damming the flow of water in
the moat. Adjoining this, on the south side, is a trackway, now disused,
which runs east-west for 150m and adjoins roads at either end. To the west of
the moat is a rectangular embanked enclosure measuring 90m x 60m, the banks of
which are 6m wide and 0.5m high. The enclosure is bounded by a road on the
north and west sides.

The moated site and trackway are included in a conservation area.

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.

Much of the moated site at Claybrooke Parva survives well. The moat island
will retain information on the buildings which formerly occupied it whilst the
waterlogged moat will retain environmental material. Unusually this site has
a large attached enclosure linked to the moat by a trackway.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume I, (1907), 263

Source: Historic England