Details

The monument includes two moated sites at Healing Hall. The larger moat is
defined by a silted (and now dry) ditch; the smaller moated site, the ditches
of which remain waterlogged, is situated in the south-western corner of the
larger one.
The larger moated site has a roughly square island surrounded by a ditch with,
on the north and west sides, an external bank. An internal bank is also
present on the north side. The north-eastern corner of the site has been built
over and part of the island has been landscaped to form a garden. Overall the
site was originally just over 200m square. The northern arm of the moat is now
5m wide and 1m deep, the southern arm 20m wide and 3m deep, and the western
arm 10m wide and 1.5m deep. The eastern arm of the moat has been largely
infilled but remains visible to the south of the modern buildings and is 15m
wide and 3m deep. The external bank on the north and west sides is 1m high and
between 5m and 7m wide. The internal bank on the north side is 1m high and 8m
wide.
The smaller moated site is situated in the south-western corner of the larger
site and the southern and western moat arms appear to have been formed by the
recutting of the larger site's ditches. The raised island enclosed by the moat
is 40m square and has been landscaped as part of the later garden.
A concrete air-raid shelter was built into the southern arm of the large moat
during the Second World War. It remains in situ.
This manorial site is closely associated with Healing's medieval parish
church which lies adjacent to it to the east.
The modern bridges across the wet moat and the temporary garden structures,
such as the wooden summer-house, are excluded from the scheduling but the
ground beneath all these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

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.

Despite partial in-filling of the ditches of the larger moated site and some
disturbance from building and landscaping, archaeological remains of the
buildings which formerly existed on the sites will survive and the waterlogged
moat of the smaller site retains conditions suitable for the preservation of
organic materials.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Loughlin, N, Miller, K, Survey of Archaeological Sites in Humberside, (1979), 167

Source: Historic England