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Moated site 170m south east of Cranley Hall

A Scheduled Monument in Eye, Suffolk

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Coordinates

Latitude: 52.3101 / 52°18'36"N

Longitude: 1.1574 / 1°9'26"E

OS Eastings: 615329.399845

OS Northings: 272698.230249

OS Grid: TM153726

Mapcode National: GBR TJS.5DV

Mapcode Global: VHL9N.06QC

Entry Name: Moated site 170m south east of Cranley Hall

Scheduled Date: 9 March 2001

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1020140

English Heritage Legacy ID: 30596

County: Suffolk

Civil Parish: Eye

Traditional County: Suffolk

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Suffolk

Church of England Parish: Eye St Peter and St Paul

Church of England Diocese: St.Edmundsbury and Ipswich

Details

The monument includes a small moated site located on a low spur to the south
of Cranley Green Road. It is associated with the larger moated site at Cranley
Hall which lies to the north west of it and is the subject of a separate
scheduling.

The moat, which is between 5m and 9m wide and contains water, surrounds a
sub-rectangular island measuring approximately 25m east-west by a maximum of
18m. An outlet channel up to 5m wide and open to a depth of up to 1m issues
from the south east corner of the moat, running in a curve east and north
eastwards to join a field drainage system.

The moated site is recorded on a map of Cranley Hall manor made in 1626 which
depicts trees on the central island and a bridge across the northern arm of
the moat. Originally it is likely to have contained a building or buildings,
but the evidence of the map suggests that by the 17th century it was used as
an orchard or a garden with ornamental trees.

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.

The moated site 170m south east of Cranley Hall survives well and is of
particular interest because of its association with the medieval moated site
of Cranley Hall manor. The moat and central island will contain archaeological
information concerning its construction and use in the medieval and early
post-medieval periods. Organic materials, including evidence for the local
environment in the past, are likely to be preserved in waterlogged deposits in
the moat.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: The Description of the Scite of the Mannor of Cranlye Hall
Source Date: 1626
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
C20th copy in SRO Ref. HD78:2671 Eye

Source: Historic England

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