Details

The monument includes a moated site situated at the bottom of a valley, 700m
north of Ireland's Farm.
The moated site has external dimensions of approximately 62m square and has
been constructed across the course of a small stream. The water supply for the
moat arms enters at the north western corner of the site and would have
originally been controlled by a sluice, which will survive as a buried
feature. The arms of the moat are water filled, up to 14m wide and
approximately 3.5m deep. The moated island is raised above the surrounding
ground surface and measures 33m square. Access onto the moated island is
currently via a timber footbridge across the northern arm of the moat. There
is no visible evidence for the location of the original entrance, although a
19th century tithe map indicates that at that time there was an entrance
across the eastern moat arm.
During the late 13th or early 14th century William de Harcourt granted the
Lapworth area of his estate to Henry de Braunteson and his heirs. There are
late 13th century documentary references to a `mansion' in the Lapworth Park
area and they are thought to refer to the moated site.
The modern timber footbridge across the north western corner of the moat and
all fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath
these 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 north of Ireland's Farm survives well and, unusually for this
area, its setting is completely unencumbered by modern development. The moated
island will retain archaeological information on the structures which were
originally situated here. Despite the cleaning of the moat in 1987, the silts
remaining in the lower parts of the ditches will retain both artefactual and
environmental evidence relating to the site's occupation, the economy of its
inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Moated Site Research Group, , Moated site at Lapworth Park, (1984)
Cossins, J A, 'Transactions of Birmingham Archaeological & Historical Society' in Moated site at Lapworth Park, , Vol. 33, (1907), 67

Source: Historic England