More information : (TL 2182 2790) Moat (NR). (1)
"The moat is dry and much denuded, except the SW corner". It is in a poor condition. (2)
"The remains of a moat are still visible, partly surrounding the house, garden and barn". (3)
The moat is complete except for the NW quarter. It was fed by a stream from the east which now flows out at the SW corner. A pond to the north may have been associated. Published survey (25") revised. (4)
TL 2193 2795 (FCE). Surrounding the site of the former Wymondley Priory (see TL 22 NW 15) are the remains of a moated enclosure which has, by implication, been thought to be a feature of medieval date. The feature is best defined to the E where the arms are deep and wide; this good definition of the arms coincides with the internal raised bank. The S arm becomes more constricted to the W of the S inturn of the bank, partly as a result of infilling caused by its proximity to the farmyard. The SW corner of the moat is badly disturbed and partially infilled. The evidence for a W arm is slight. On the SW corner of the moat are the remnants of a pond, shown in 1731 with a row of trees on its outer bank; it has been subject to filling from either side. The N arm becomes similarly constricted to the W of the farmhouse and is traceable as a shallow hollow with a bank along its centre before joining the pond below Dovecote Cottage. The moat was entirely dry at the time of survey, but the vegetation indicated that at least the SE part of the moat may still retain water at times of heavy rainfall. As with many moats part of its water supply was probably by ground seepage, its position at the end of a minor E-W valley feeding drainage into it. In addition to casual drainage, a feed was also provided into the NE corner taken off from the conduit. This is in part an open field drain to the E of the house. The outfall from the moat was from the SW corner westwards into a minor stream valley. The present levels within the moat preclude the feature from ever being a continuous sheet of water. For the water to have been retained in the E parts of the moat a series of dams or sluices would have been required, but if this feature was largely ornamental then no great depth of water would have been necessary.
The above description is summarised from a detailed level 3 RCHME 1:1000 scale survey of Wymondley Priory conducted in August 1990. The results of the survey are held in the NMR archive. (5) |