Details

The monument is the moated site of the original Scarisbrick Hall and is
located in Old Wood, some 140m NW of the modern Scarisbrick Hall. The site
includes a tree and scrub covered island measuring c.100m x 50m flanked on the
SW and NW sides by a waterlogged moat. The SW arm is c.18m max. width x 3m
deep while the NW arm measures c.4m wide x 1.5m max. depth. The moat's NE
arm is formed by the Eas Brook, in the banks of which a considerable amount of
dressed stone is visible. Dumping has obliterated all traces of a SE arm and
has infilled the S end of the SW arm.
Scarisbrick Hall was originally a half-timbered 11th/12th century manor house.
It is mentioned in an early 13th century deed when it was in the possession of
Walter de Scarisbrick.

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 the tree growth on the island of this site, considerable evidence of
the building originally located on it will survive. Additionally waterlogged
material will be preserved in those surviving sections of the moat.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Steane, M A, 'Transactions of the Historical Society of Lancashire & Cheshire' in Excavations At A Moated Site Near Scarisbrick, , Vol. CXII, (1960), 147-53
Other
Bulpit, Rev. W T, Notes on Southport and District, 1908,
Darvill, T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Moats, (1988)
PRN 804, Lancashire SMR, Old Wood, Scarisbrick Hall, (1984)

Source: Historic England