Information for record number MWA3318:
Moat to W of Manor Farm, Draycote

Summary A moat, a wide ditch usually surrounding a building. It dates to the Medieval period and is still visible as an earthwork. It is situated to the west of Manor Farm, Draycote.
What Is It?  
Type: Moat
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Bourton and Draycote
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 44 69
(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
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1 Part of a moat exists to the NW side of the house at Manor Farm. There is also a fishpond complex (PRN 5400). The whole forms a large manorial site.
2 The fourth side of the moat has been re-excavated and the moat refilled. It is in fact possible that the fourth (SW) side never existed.
4 The owner has re-excavated large portions of the earthwork complex in an attempt to restore it to something like its original form. It seems likely that the fourth side has actually been added to complete the circuit. To the E of the main moat is a feature which may represent a second moat, although it is very incomplete. Taken together these suggest a substantial manorial complex.
5 moated site survey.
6 Archaeological watching brief near the moated site (centred on SP442699) did not reveal any medieval featues, only a well contemporary with house and a sherd of 17th-18th century Blackware pottery.
7Two moats clearly visible on lidar imagery at south-west side of site. moat around Manor House not visible. fishpond complex adjoining on south-east.
 
Sources

Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Moated Sites Research Group
Author/originator: IRM
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Card
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: LIDAR
Title: Environment Agency LIDAR (2008)
Author/originator: Environment Agency
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: OS Card, 35NE5
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 35NE5
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Kilburn C D
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3697
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: IRM
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 1755
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Watching Brief Report
Title: Manor Farm, Draycote, Burton and Draycote
Author/originator: Coutts C
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No:
Source Type: Watching Brief Report
Title: Bouton and Draycote, Sultans Turret, Draycote
Author/originator: Newman R
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Map indicating moats at Manor Farm, Draycote
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1984
Click here for larger image  
 
A moat, in the bottom left hand corner of the picture, at Draycote
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1993
Click here for larger image  
 
A Medieval moat on the 1886 Ordnance Survey map at Draycote
Copyright: Open
Date: 1886
Click here for larger image  
 
back to top

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
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.
back
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.
more ->
back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MANOR FARM * A farm on the estate of a manor. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument TURRET * A small tower or bartizan, which was often placed at the angles of a castle, to increase the flanking ability, some only serving as corner buttresses. Also used to describe the small rectangular towers situated between the milecastles along Hadrians Wall. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. 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 WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. 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 EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record