Details

The monument includes a medieval moated site immediately south east of New
House Farm, located about 850m SSE of Lawshall village centre, close to the
parish boundary.
The moated site includes a roughly rectangular island which measures up to 44m
north to south by 40m east to west and is slightly raised above the
surrounding ground surface. This is enclosed by a waterfilled moat, measuring
up to 8m wide. Access to the island is across the south west corner which was
infilled prior to 1842. In this area, the moat will survive as a buried
feature.
The 17 to 18th century farmhouse, which is a Listed Building Grade II standing
approximately 80m to the north west of the moat, is thought to represent the
successor to an earlier house on the island.
The brick and concrete foundation for a small agricultural building and the
animal shelter on the island, together with the gate and all fencing, the
sheds and old barn along the north edge of the moat and the surface of the
trackway along the west side of the moat, are excluded from the scheduling,
although the ground beneath all these features all 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.

The moated site immediately south east of New House Farm survives well. The
island remains largely undisturbed by post-medieval and modern activity and
will retain buried evidence for structures and other features relating to the
development and character of the site throughout the periods of occupation.
Evidence for earlier land use is likely to be preserved in buried soils
beneath the island. In addition, the buried silts in the base of the moat will
contain artefacts relating to the period of occupation, and organic deposits
including evidence for the local environment in the past, are also likely to
be preserved in waterlogged deposits in the moat.
Comparisons between this site and other examples, both locally and more
widely, will provide valuable insights into the developments in the nature of
settlement in medieval England.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: Tithe Map of Lawshall
Source Date: 1842
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
SRO(Bury): T331/2

Source: Historic England