More information : [Area centred SE 6950 6404]. Moat [LB] (1) Foston Hall which was built in 1823 is alleged to have been erected on the site of the Manor House. (It seems more probable however that the Moat and Earthworks to the West of the Hall denote the site of the Manor House.) (Foston Hall is situated at SE 7011 6513) (2) Published survey (25") revised. The well defined remains of a typical Yorkshire type of manorial enclosure incorporating a moat (now dry) and a fishpond. There are no visible remains of the manor house. Foston Hall is modern and has no associated earthworks. (3) No change since 1-8-1967. (4)
The moat and manorial enclosure recorded by Authority 1 were mapped from poor quality air photographs and more accurately located:-
Probable Medieval moat, seen as an earthwork. Morphological description: a square enclosure, 90m by 90m, defined by 1 ditch and 1 bank, with 4 sides and 1 entrance visible. Centred at:-SE 6958 6503 (Morph No. HH.75.9.1)
The moat lies within a rectilinear enclosure, 160m by 170m, also seen as an earthwork, defined by 1 ditch and 2 banks, with 3 sides visible. Centred at:-SE 6946 6505 (Morph No. HH.75.9.2)
The fishponds recorded by Authority 3 were not identified because or tree and hedgerow cover, but an additional possible fishpond, which lies askew to both the moat and enclosure, has been separately recorded as SE 66 NE 84.
All the earthworks recorded here have now been levelled; their destruction was recorded by air photography in January 1984.
This description is based on data from the RCHME MORPH2 database. (5)
SE 696 650. Foston moated site. Scheduled no. NY/235. (6)
No evidence was noted on the ground for this feature by the OS Field Reviser. (7)
It is believed that the site represents a monastic settlement, possibly a grange, of St Mary's Abbey, York, to which the manor had passed by 1167. The manor passed to the Crown in 1539 after St Mary's Abbey was dissolved. The moat island is set in the South-East corner a larger moated enclosure. The island is 70m East-West by 60m North-South, the site of the main hall being sited centrally. The latter measures circa 12m by 6m, a wing 10m by 4m being added in the early 14th century.The larger enclosure is roughly rectangular, measuring 270m East-West by 180m. Rescue excavations in 1984-5 suggest that the manor house was demolished soon after the Dissolution. Scheduled RSM Number 32641. (8) |