Medieval moat, Mascalls (EHER 5641)

The remains of a trapezoidal homestead moat at Great Mascalls Farm. Three arms of the moat survive as waterfilled earthworks.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Moat (Mascalls) <1> Homestead moat <2> Waterfilled remains of large moat east of Mascalls. East arm and parts of north and south arms remain, giving overall measurements 60m north-south x 50-65m east-west. South arm formerly extended westwards, indicated by slight depression in ground. The north arm has been modified by a lily pond and confined by brick retaining walls. On the north side of the feature is a fragment of retaining brick. The moat includes a large pond on the south east corner <3> Incomplete, rectangular <4> Sketch plan of moat on back of MSRG card <5> Measured plan on OS card <6> Site visit 1962 Published survey (25" 1922) revised. <7> Site visit 1976 No Change. <8> Site visit 1988 Three sides of what appears originally to have been a trapezoidal moat survive at Great Mascalls Farm. All contain water, although the S arm has been enlarged into a pond. Slight depressions at the W end of both the N and S arms suggest they formerly extended further, although no definite sign of the course of the missing W arm is visible. Mr Hodge, the tenant, suggested the arm may have run in front t of the house by the road, where he has a perennial problem with subsidence which needs infilling. Whilst possible, this would make the moat over 130m long E-W, by 70m - 80m N-S, with the present farmhouse built off the original moated island. The moat lies just down from the crest, and on the E side, of a N facing bluff between two small stream valleys flowing N and W eventually to join the Chelmer. The bluff sides are, however, very gentle, and no external banks were required to retain water in the moat; that on the N side suggested by auth 3 is in fact the edge of a separate parallel drainage feature. In places this feature is wide enough to suggest it might even be the true course, now silted, of the N arm, rather than the brick-lined lily pond. However, there is no ground evidence for the E arm having continued further N than at present, and Mr Hodge said that the lily pond was constructed in 1921 by his grandfather out of a pre-existing feature. On balance therefore, the pond is likely to perpetuate the plan of the original moat. A sluice at the NE corner controls the drainage of the moat northwards to the drainage feature mentioned above. Revised at 1:2500. <9> Additional reference <10>