Details

The monument is a moated site comprising a roughly rectangular 3m high
platform surrounded by a flat bottomed moat with an average base width of 10m
and an upper width of 20m. The moat is cut into a steep west-facing slope.
Consequently, the outer bank on the east side is between 3m and 4m high
whereas, elsewhere, it is as low as 1m. The main part of the platform measures
45m from north to south by 25m from east to west. However, on the south side,
there is an additional 7m wide terrace which slopes gradually down to the moat
and incorporates, at the south-east corner of the platform, a mound including
fragments of brick and polished stone. This is interpreted as the footings of
a bridge across the moat. Enclosing the moat on the west and south sides is a
1m high flat topped bank measuring 6m wide which may, originally, have been
the site of a wall. At the north-west corner of the moat can be seen the
remains of an outlet into Cubley Brook while, at the north-east corner, there
is the mouth of a leat which would have drained water off the adjacent
hillside. The moat was the site of Cubley Hall and was the seat of the
Montgomery family.

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.

Cubley Hall moated site is a very well preserved example of a large manorial
moat with documented historical associations. It has suffered very little
disturbance since it was abandoned and the buried remains of buildings and
other features from all phases of occupation will survive throughout the
monument.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Derby: Volume I, (1905), 388-9
Drage, C, Cubley Hall moated site, (1982)
Other
Craven, D. and Drage, C., Moated Sites List, 1982, SMR
Title: Map of Derbyshire
Source Date: 1610
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England