Scheduled Monument: MOATED SITE IN MAPPERLEY PARK WOOD (1010504)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION 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. Although up to half the moated site in Mapperley Park Wood is concealed beneath a railway embankment, it is a good example of a small homestead moat whose earthworks survive well and in which the buried remains of buildings and other structures will be well preserved beneath the embankment. DETAILS The monument is a moated site comprising a roughly square platform surrounded by a 12m wide moat with an average depth of c.2m. The platform, half of which is buried beneath a railway embankment, is c.45m square and includes a bank around its visible edge which would have been the site of a wall or palisade. A substantial outer bank encloses the moat and incorporates a 15m wide breach on the south side corresponding with a former bridging point across the moat. The precise history of the site is unknown but documentary evidence indicates that it was inhabited in c.1330. The railway embankment and all modern fencing are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground underneath is included. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Title: Quo Warranto Roll 1330/1 - Type: DESC TEXT Book Reference - Author: Craven, M and Drage, C - Title: Moated Sites List - Date: 1982 - Type: DESC TEXT - Description: SMR