More information : (SJ 33310362) Moat (NR). (1)
At SJ 33310362 are the south-west, north-west and north-east arms
of a rectangular, water-filled moat. At SJ 33300361 is a 10.0m
long wall, 1.0m thick and 2.3m high, constructed of mortared,
roughly-dressed stone, probably the remains of the Medieval hall. (2)
The moat is probably manorial, the manor of Leigh being first
mentioned in 1199. The vill was burnt by the Welsh in 1263.
During the Civil War, the site was garrisoned and destroyed by
fire, although whether the moated site itself was still in use
at this time is not known. The moat is water-logged and is
complete except for the south corner which has been filled in.
Substantial lengths of revetment walling in local stone, up to
2.0m high, survive around the island, and on the south-west side
a fragment of free-standing walling survives to a height of 2.3m.
The original entrance appears to have been on the north-west
where, although the causeway is modern there are clear signs of
gate jambs and foundations of a rectangular gatehouse on the
island. Other masonry buildings can be traced on other parts of
the island. The present Leigh Hall farm stands adjacent to the
site and contains a half-timbered wing, probably of 17th century
date.
The site is not scheduled but is one of the few in the county
with visible masonry, It is being cleared and surveyed as a
preliminary to salvage operations during projected dredging of
the moat ditch in 1978. (3)
Excavation of the moat was carried out beside the present
causeway and consisted of a 1.0m trench only. An extremely hard-
packed, rammed layer of stone and brick rubble about 50cm thick
was found. From observations during the dredging of the moat, it
is clear that this rubble is the remains of buildings pushed and
rammed into the moat from the interior. The bricks appear to be
late 16th century in type. (4-5)
A sub-rectangular, waterfilled homestead moat on the north side
of Leigh Hall (a 19th century farmhouse). The moat measures
overall, 70.0m north-west to south-east, by 55.0m transversely.
The arms, which are steep-sided, average 10.0m, in width, and are
up to 2.0m in depth to water level. Most of the south-east arm,
with the south corner, has been filled in, otherwise the moat is
in good condition. An original causewayed entrance lies midway
across the north-west arm. There are traces of buried masonry on
the inner north side of the entrance, the suggested site of a
gatehouse (4), and there is exposed masonry walling on the north-
east along the inner edge of the moat. In a similar situation on
the south-west, random rubble stone walling, 0.4m thick, stands
to a height of 2.2m, extends for some 3.0m, and then continues
for a further 5.0m, about 0.2m high, towards the west corner.
There are no dateable features in any of it.
Revised 1:2500 AM survey (4 3 71) still correct. (6)
Medieval moated manor house. (7-8)
The earthwork remains of the moat described by the previous authorities was seen on aerial photographs filled with water. The visible remains formed three sides of a rectilinear enclosure with rounded corners measuring approximately 45m across and centred at SJ 3331 0362. The modern farm has encroached upon the site. The site was mapped from aerial photographs. (9)
Scheduled RSM Number 32324. (10) |