Details

The monument includes a moated site on low-lying ground 150m north of the
River Chelt. It includes a rectangular moat enclosing an island measuring 120m
north-south and 68m east-west. The southern half of this enclosed area is up
to 1m higher than northern portion, and it is possible that the medieval
predecessor to the present houses lay in this area. The moat is 17m wide at
its widest point and 6m at its narrowest and up to 2m deep to the surface of
the water. There is an external bank along the southern arm which is about
1.5m high and up to 12m wide. To the east of the main moated site is a
subsidiary enclosure, defined to the south by a ditch about 0.5m deep and up
to 18m wide, which then runs north, parallel to the eastern arm of the main
moat, enclosing an area measuring up to 110m north-south and 28m east-west.
A cast-iron bridge, which replaced an earlier access to the island, was built
across the northern arm during the 19th century. The bridge bears the
inscription `CAST AT COALBROOKDALE 1851' and, with its two stone lodges, is
Listed Grade II. A house, which became known as Moat House during the 19th
century, stands in the north east quarter of the island. The present structure
dates from the early 17th century with considerable 19th century alterations,
and is also Listed Grade II. To the north west of the house is the 19th
century coach house, and a late 17th/early 18th century timber framed barn,
both Grade II Listed Buildings.
There is no record of the date at which the moated site at Uckington was
originally constructed, although it is likely to have occurred during the
height of the moat building tradition, between 1250 and 1350, when the manor
of Uckington was in the possession of the Abbey of St Denis in Paris. The
manor later passed to Deerhurst Priory, and then in 1467 to Tewkesbury Abbey.
After the Dissolution the estate passed into secular hands, and the only
reference to a manor house dates to this period. In the early 17th century the
moated site is believed to have become the site of the rectory house and part
of Moat House dates to this period.
Moat House, the coach house and barn, the stone and cast iron bridge and
associated lodges, the greenhouse, all fences, gates, gateposts, stone and
brick walls and all paved and gravelled surfaces are excluded from the
scheduling, although 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.

Moat House moated site survives well, despite the presence of later buildings
on part of the island. Buried deposits on the island are likely to include the
remains of medieval structures, and will contain archaeological information
relating to the construction and subsequent occupation and use of the moated
site. Within the moat waterlogged deposits will have preserved archaeological
remains relating to the occupation and use of the site, along with organic
material which will provide information about the economy of the site and the
local environment during the medieval period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Elrington, C R, Morgan, K, Herbert, N, The Victoria History of the County of Gloucestershire, (1968), 51-54
Other
DOE, Buildings of Special Hist & Arch Interest,

Source: Historic England