Information for record number MWA188:
Moat at Arley Hall, Woodside, Arley

Summary A meadieval moat is visible as an earthwork 350m west of St. Wilfred's Church, Arley. It was associated with Arley Hall.
What Is It?  
Type: Moat
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Arley
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 27 90
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Arley Hall was once a moated manor house.
2 Fragmentary remains of a homestead moat. The track of the West arm can still be vaguely traced.
3 The moat now consists of an area of low-lying and marshy ground, heavily overgrown.
4 Enclosure about 45m by 30m with a ditch 8-15m wide and 2m deep.
5The remains of the feature described as a moat by Resource 2 is now used as a farmyard dump; a low earthern dam seperates the west end of this from an overgrown and marshy area to the north. These features reside in a natural valley along which a number of artificial ponds have been created, particularly to the north, and rather than being remnants of a moat are more porbably former ponds. The local topography around Arley Hall paticularly at the north where the ground is much higher than these ponds, would seem to preclude construction of a continuous water filled moat around the house; there is no earthwork evidence for such a feature having existed. To the south of the alleged moat and also occupying the same valley bottom is a large sub-rectangular shaped former pond defined by a massive scarp 3 m high at the east and the natural valley side at the west, retained at the south by an earthwork dam 12 m wide and 1m high. An overflow channel exists at the east end. It appears that this pond, as well as those forming the alleged moat form part of a complex chain of ponds in this valley, the date and function of which are uncertain.
6 The site was moated and the track of the western arm of the moat can still be traced as an area of marshy ground. The southern moat ditch is 8-15m wide and 2m deep. The line of the south-east, east and north arms are less clear, and it is now known whether the Hall lay within the moat.
 
Sources
Source No: 7
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Symbols of Status in Medieval Warwickshire (1000-1500)
Author/originator: Hook D
Date: 2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 117
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Moated Sites Research Group
Author/originator: IRM
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Card
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Evaluation at Arley Hall Farm
Author/originator: Coutts C
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0028
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: National Monument Record (Pastscape)
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR card : text
Author/originator: JMG
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NE1
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 27
Author/originator:
Date: 1901
Page Number: 11
Volume/Sheet: 27
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MOAT * A wide ditch surrounding a building, usually filled with water. Use for moated sites, not defensive moats. Use with relevant site type where known, eg. MANOR HOUSE, GARDEN, etc. back
monument FARMYARD * A yard or enclosure attached to a farmhouse, usually surrounded by other farm buildings. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument MARSH * A low lying area of land that is usually waterlogged at all times and is flooded in wet weather. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument HOMESTEAD * A small settlement, usually consisting of one dwelling with ancillary buildings. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument SCARP * A steep bank or slope. In fortifications, the bank or wall immediately in front of and below the rampart. back
monument DAM * A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record