Site of Medieval moat associated with Guttridge Hall, Weeley (EHER 3039)

Site of Guttridge Hall with a moat which by 1972 was reduced to only a cropmark. The site was fieldwalked and excavated as it was in the proposed line of the A133 Little Clacton and Weeley Heath Bypass uncovering medieval pottery and several phases of the moat and structures.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. The north and part of the east arm of a homestead moat remain at Guttridge Hall. The hall has been demolished. At the time of the OS field surveyor's visit in August 1957 a probably fishpond was also located as TM 13882125 and both the fishpond and moat were waterfilled. <1> <2> Moat, by 1972 reduced to only a cropmark. <3>-<7> The moat and fishpond were recorded as being filled in and no longed visible by the OS surveyor in November 1977. <8> Plan of moat and ponds on back MSRG card, from APs. <9> Guttridge Hall is a difficult placename, according to Reaney <10>, and is possibly related to Gothic for `gravel' or perhaps to a personal name. <10> gives many references and spellings, e.g. `Crostwic' (recorded in 1230) and `Crusteswychehall' (recorded in 1488). <10> 14th century barn - see 3040. In 1990 the site was fieldwalked as part of an assessment of the proposed line of the A133 Little Clacton and Weeley Heath Bypass. The moat was actually visible on the surface of the field; it was backfilled with darker material and survived as a slight depression. A total of 29 Medieval pottery sherds were collected from the area enclosed by the moat and were subsequently dated to the late-12th to 15th centuries.<11> A rescue excavation was undertaken in 1998 on the position of a medieval moated site known from 13th century documentary sources and more recently from cropmark evidence and a fieldwalking survey. <5><6><7><12> <13> Up to five separate phases of moat have been identified, the earliest defining part of the original medieval complex, the perimeter of which contained evidence for medieval structures provisionally dated to the 12th to 13th centuries. Later phases revealed how the hall and its surroundings expanded, the moat being modified to accommodate a substantial brick building, possibly Tudor, further to the south. <14> Excavation report in EAH <15>