Information for record number MWA3400:
Moat 100m NW of Church

Summary A Medieval moat, a wide ditch usually surrounding a building. It is still visible as an earthwork, and is situated 100m west of St Margaret's Church, Wolston.
What Is It?  
Type: Moat, Bank (Earthwork)
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wolston
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 40 75
(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 At the above grid reference is a moat, now virtually dry, having three dug sides, the fourth being the River Avon. This is probably the site of one of the Manor Houses of Wolston.
2 The enclosure is about 75m by 40m and polygonal, with enclosure banks without. The moat is 5-9m wide, 1.5m deep and is dry.
3 Close to the church and to earthworks of a Medieval settlement. The ditch forms an irregular D-shape and is now dry, although it was once fed by a sluice from the Avon. The sluice is sandstone and could be Medieval, but the dam at the outlet point is entirely of 19th century brick. There is no evidence of structures on the island.
4 Plan.
 
Sources

Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Moated Sites Research Group
Author/originator: IRM
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Card
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Moated Sites Research Group
Author/originator: Mackenzie I et al
Date: 1986
Page Number: 15
Volume/Sheet: 13
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Plan
Title: MSRG
Author/originator: Mackenzie I et al
Date: 1986
Page Number: Fig 19
Volume/Sheet: 13
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NE1
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source MSRG The annual report of the Moated Site Research Group, containing reports about field survey and excavation of sites throughout Britain. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
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
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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. 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 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 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 SLUICE * A dam which can be raised or lowered to regulate the flow of water. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument ISLAND * A piece of land, sometimes man-made, completely surrounded by water. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. 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