More information : (The earthworks were previously recorded under SJ 76 NW 6. Sources 1-3 are derived from that record.
Kinderton castle stood on the river Dane at Middlewich at the time of the Domesday Survey. Both the castle and the Hall which succeeded it have been removed. All that remains is part of a moat, which originally enclosed an area of several acres, in the south-west corner of which is a large circular mound. (Modern Kinderton Hall at SJ 708 669). (1)
The remains of the moat are at SJ 7076 6702 (SJ 76 NW 6). The mound is at SJ 7074 6689. It is composed of sandy soil and small stones, and is grass and tree-covered. It is c 3.7m high with a flat top c 2.0m square. There is no trace of a building on it and it has no ditch. It has the appearance of being merely ornamental, possibly to hold a gazebo. The angle of slope and slight irregularities in its side are not consistent with it being a motte.
Surveyed at 1:2500. (2)
Survey of 5/3/62 checked and found correct. (3)
The mound is part of formal garden remains, centred at SJ 7079 6700, arranged around the moat and site of Old Kinderton Hall (SJ 76 NW 6). The gardens comprise the mound, two terraces, sunken areas for ornamental ponds and a number of rectangular divisions in varying states of preservation from near complete to fragmentary, surviving at their best along the west side of the site. Two large rectilinear enclosures lie north and east of the moat, but both show signs of extensive later interference. To the south of the eastern enclosure the garden earthworks have been destroyed by the existing Kinderton Hall (SJ 76 NW 13) and outbuildings. It is not now clear whether the mound and the adjacent rectilinear earthworks mark the original southern limits of the formal garden: this area has been disturbed by a later garden layout associated with the present Hall. The formal garden remains find their best context by analogy with gardens elsewhere, dated to the later 16th or 17th centuries.
The garden remains together with the moat were surveyed at 1:1000 scale by RCHME; plans and descriptive text are held in the NMR. (4)
SJ 7080 6702. Kinderton Hall moated site, two annexes, five fishponds, garden and prospect mound. Scheduled RSM No 13492. (5)
Short description and plan of moat and gardens. (6) |