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ROMSLEY MOAT

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A moat damaged by ploughing and dumping of material making a rectangle of 50 metres by 20 metres, with a possible fishpond extension to the north-east. A small excavation in 1977 revealed a stone wall and medieval pottery.

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SO 788832. Romsley Moat was discovered from air
photographs taken in the dry summer of 1976. The site was found
to be a low rectangular platform, 20.0 m by 45.0 m, oriented
north-south,enclosed by a dry moat "of token depth only", except
on the west side where the depression is far more substantial.
A squarish, subsidiary arm is situated on the north-east side,
possibly a fishpond extension. Water feed to the moat appears to
have been natural from the ridge slope. Part of the mound surface
was bulldozed into the moat some years ago, and the whole feature
is much ploughed down.

Surface finds included a variety of Medieval sherds.

A trial excavation of the southbank of the platform produced a
"rubbled stone deposit" associated with a wall foundation running
east-west along the platform edge. Further Medieval potsherds were
unearthed. (1)

SO 78828319. The remains of the moat lie at 135m above OD near the
head of a valley which runs northward and becomes a steep-sided
dingle. It has been much reduced by ploughing, but on the southwest
side it is cut into the sloping ground to a height of 1.6m. It is
generally as described by tipler (1), the platform having an
average height of 0.7m.
The pond on the northeast, shown water-filled on OS 6" 1966,
has now been drained, but it, and parts of the moat were muddy at
the time of investigation and being trampled by cattle. No
foundations are visible, nor were any finds made.
Surveyed at 1/2500 on MSD. (2)

SO 789 832. Remains noted in list of moated sites in Shropshire. (3)

'This rectangular moated site has been substantially modified by ploughing and by the dumping of earth over the last 40 years. The moat arms are now visible as shallow depressions having been infilled with soil. A minor road has been constructed over the outer edge of the south eastern arm. This road is pre-19th century in date The moat arms are between 16m and 23m wide and define a square island approximately 40m across. The north eastern has been extended in order to form a possible fishpond, 20m by 40m. This feature has also been infilled and is now visible as a shallow waterlogged depression.

In 1977 a small-scale archaeological excavation was undertaken here. In a trench dug on the south eastern side of the island the remains of a stone wall was revealed. With the plough soil over the site sherds of medieval pottery found.
(4)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) General reference

CBA Gp 8 NS 20 1977 87-8 (E W Tipler)

( 2) Field Investigators Comments

F1 DJC 06-JUN-79

(3) General reference

Moated Sites Research Group Report 7 1980 52

(4) English Heritage Alternative Action Report

02-JUN-2000, M.L.Reid.

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