Medieval moat at Hobclerk's Farm (EHER 5660)

The remains of a homestead moat which have been altered and adapted for use as garden landscape features and ponds.

Homestead moat. <1> Incomplete, rectangular. <2> Sketch plan on back of Medieval Settlement Research Group (MSRG) card. <3> [TL 79710070] Moat [G.T.]. <4> July 1962. Field survey. On the south side of Hobclerk's Farm the west arm and part of the north arm of a homestead moat remain, water-filled and in good condition. Farm buildings probably occupy the site of the east and south arms, of which no trace remains. Published survey (25" 1922) correct. <5> <6> November 1975. Field survey. No change. <7> June 1987. Field survey. The surviving sections of the west and north arms show much evidence of recutting and clearing, commensurate with landscaping and adapting the moat as a garden pond. Within the lifetime of the present occupier (approximately 50 years) the north arm extended further east than at present but was infilled to form a forecourt and garden area (a). A narrow projection to the moat at the south-west corner is probably the remnants of a leet or drain feeding the moat although this may conceivably be a modern feature as it continues the line of a ditched drain which runs along the north side of Crows Lane, although any connection has now been destroyed by a farm access. To the east of the present farm complex a broad, shallow ditch parallel to the west arm of the moat, 15m wide and 0.3m deep is evident, truncated at the south by Crows Lane. Although partially infilled and heavily puddled by animals this feature probably represents the east arm of the moat. A narrow channel, with a modern drain laid along it, emanating from the north termination of this east arm, may represent an original leet out of the moat. A significant deviation in the alignment of Crows Lane south of the farm buildings to bring the line of the road almost at right angles to the line of the west arm of the moat, and most evident in the scarp defining the edge of the field to the south, may indicate a former feature existed here to influence this road layout, although no trace of any arm survives along this side. The oldest building on the site, the farm house at TL 7972 0072 is exterior rendered and probably of no great age. Resurveyed at 1:2500, transferred to MSD. <8> Site Assessment: Remains, western and part of north arm, in good condition. <5> Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import.