Information for record number MWA1739:
Packwood Hall Moat

Summary Packwood Hall Moat, a wide ditch usually surrounding a building. It is of Medieval origin and is partially visible as an earthwork. It is situated at Packwood Hall in Lapworth.
What Is It?  
Type: Moat
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Lapworth
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 16 72
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1 In 1410 the Prior of Coventry had at Packwood 'a manor surrounded with pools'.
2 Packwood House is enclosed by a moat full of water. There are traces of an outer moat around the outbuildings to the W. There is a possibility that what was believed to be an outer moat was really the remains of a former fishpond.
3 No trace of an outer moat or fishpond to the W could be distinguished, although a pond bay was identified (PRN 5428). Surrounding the House is a subrectangular waterfilled moat with a rounded NE corner. It measures overall 110m N-S by 75m transversely. The arms, with near vertical sides, average 10m in width and are 1.2m deep to water level. The moat is filled by surface drainage or by a spring.
4 MSRG Index Card.
5 This site designated as a scheduled ancient monument in July 1995. Access onto the moated site is by means of bridges across the western and eastern arms of the moat. Although these bridges are fairly modern, it is believed that they mark the original means of access onto the island.
6 Observation of groundworks for a conservatory within the moated site. No medieval structures or features were recorded.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 5, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1965
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 5
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Packwood
Author/originator: Belton J
Date: 1951
Page Number: 78-9
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological Observation of groundworks for a conservatory at Packwood Hall, Lapworth, Warwickshire
Author/originator: G C Jones
Date: 2009
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NW3
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NW3
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: Moated Sites Research Group 1984
Author/originator:
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Card
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Packwood Hall moated site
Author/originator: EH
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Packwood Hall Moat, Lapworth
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
A Medieval moat on the 1886 Ordnance Survey map in Packwood, Lapworth
Copyright: Open
Date: 1886
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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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 Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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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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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more ->
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monument POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument CONSERVATORY * A glasshouse used to grow and display tender decorative plants. May be either an extension to a house or freestanding. back
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 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 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 POND BAY * Form of dam, usually associated with ponds supplying water for blast furnaces. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument OUTBUILDING * A detached subordinate building. Use specific type where known, eg. DAIRY. back
monument MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. 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 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 SPRING * A point where water issues naturally from the rock or soil onto the ground or into a body of surface water. 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