Scheduled Monument: HULLAND OLD HALL MOAT, ENCLOSURE, CHAPEL SITE AND FOUR FISHPONDS (1010029)

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. Hulland Old Hall moat is reasonably well-preserved and retains evidence of buildings and other activity immediately outside the moat, demonstrating well the diversity of this monument class. Although the monument has suffered some disturbance from ploughing, this affects only a small portion of the site and building foundations and other archaeological material will survive extensively and largely in situ. Well-preserved organic and environmental material will also survive in the waterlogged deposits of the moat. In addition, the two small fishponds are undisturbed and will also retain well-preserved organic deposits. The larger ponds, although partially affected by modern disturbance, nevertheless retain significant evidence of their original form and the organic deposits which have accumulated in them. DETAILS The monument is situated on the north bank of Hulland Hollow Brook and includes the ditch and central platform of Hulland Old Hall moat and a banked enclosure to the north which contains the site of a chapel and a number of platforms relating to ancillary buildings associated with the moated manor house. A separate area lies c.200m to the east and includes a group of four fishponds and other water-management features. The moat consists of a rectangular platform measuring c.45m by 50m and raised c.1m above the level of the surrounding land. The ditch varies between c.5m and 7m wide and is surrounded by a 1m high outer bank. A channel leads from the south-east corner of the moat to the brook which runs parallel with the southern arm. Although the southern arm and much of the western and eastern arms are waterlogged, it is unlikely that the ditch was ever entirely water-filled as the north side lies at least 2m higher than the south. The brook did not fill the moat but acted as a drain for the water soaking into the moat from the slope to the north. Several factors indicate that it was a particularly wet site, and this is likely to have been one reason why the hall was eventually abandoned and rebuilt further up the hill. These include not only the height of the platform but also the fact that, over the centuries, the moat has become heavily silted. In addition, an overflow channel was dug parallel to the west arm of the moat and is visible now as a linear depression c.5m wide and 60m long. To the north of the moat is a rectangular enclosure surrounded by a slight bank and measuring c.60m north to south by c.150m east to west. To the west of the modern farm track, where the land is ploughed, the enclosure is more readily seen on aerial photographs. In the pasture to the east, however, a number of building platforms can easily be distinguished on the ground within this enclosure. These platforms indicate the positions of ancillary buildings associated with the manor house and will include, amongst other examples, barns and stables. The manor is also known to have had its own chapel and this is believed to have stood within the northern enclosure. To the east of the moat, now situated in woodland, is a group of two small and two large fishponds linked by sluices and created by damming the original course of Hulland Hollow Brook and diverting the stream to the north. The sluices and a weir to the west were all rebuilt in the Victorian era but are nonetheless believed to retain much of their earlier structure. The manor, which is sometimes known as Hulland Hough, was first mentioned in 1250. The valley site was occupied until the mid-seventeenth century when it was abandoned in favour of the current Hulland Hall. The chapel, however, was still in use in 1712. To the east of the fishponds are a series of earthworks which, in addition to the bed of the old Hulland Hollow Brook, include a complex of channels and small, square banked enclosures and, at the east end, a 3m high earth bank believed to be an abandoned dam. These features too are believed to be associated with the moated manor but are not included in the scheduling as they are insufficiently well understood. Also excluded from the scheduling is the modern fencing round the moat although the ground beneath is included. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Derbyshire County Survey - Title: Hulland Old Hall Moat (run 16.350) - Date: 1972 - Type: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH - Description: Vertical/high elevation in SMRO Book Reference - Author: Harrison, John - Title: Hulland Old Hall Moat - Type: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH - Description: Vertical/low elevation Book Reference - Author: Hart, C.R. - Title: The North Derbyshire Archaeological Survey to AD 1500 - Date: 1981 - Type: DESC TEXT