Fifteenth century homestead moat and fish ponds at Black Notley Hall (EHER 6429)

A homestead moat and two associated fishponds in a field adjoining Black Notley churchyard. It is a dry moat and surrounds an island approximately 16m sq. When surveyed in 1999, no trace of any structure was found on the island. On all sides of the moat ditch there is evidence of some reworking. Two fishponds are connected to the moat on the north-west and south-east corners. The header pond to the north of the moat has been interpreted as a depression caused by bomb damage during the Second World War but this is not the case and its shallow appearance has instead been caused by partial in-filling. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Homestead moat in the field north of and adjoining the churchyard. <1> Possibly a double homestead moat. <2> A tracing of the OS plan of the earthworks is in the EHER. <3> Incomplete, rectangular. <4> Moat (NR). <5> January 1950. Field survey. Dry moat, in good condition, surrounds an island approximately 16.0m square. Average depth of moat 1.5m. Two rectangular depressions associated with the site, one adjoining the north arm, the other south east of the moat is connected to it by a shallow ditch. <6> July 1952. Field survey. The shallow ditch connecting the south-east arm to main site has been bridged with earth at one point to allow access to the eastern side of the field. <7> <8> March 1975. Field survey. A series of dry depressions situated on gently sloping pasture east of Black Notley church. The central feature is a moated island, comprising four rectangular fishponds centred TL 7620 2071. They measure overall 40.0m. square by 2.0m. deep with central island 16.0m. square. No trace of any structure was found on the island. To the north at TL 7618 2074 is a rectangular depression 38.0m. by 20.0m. and 0.7m. deep connected on its SE angle by a shallow ditch. It is doubtful if this feature held water as its base is sloping. Its lower side appears to post-date the northern arm of the rectangular fishponds. A further fishpond at TL 7636 2067, measuring 26.0m. by 18.0m. and 2.0m. deep, is connected by a ditch to the central ponds. Published survey (25") revised. <9> <10> January 1996. Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument includes a moated site and two fishponds, these are all dry and survive as earthworks. The moated site forms an irregular rectangle in plan tapering slightly to the north-west. It has overall dimensions of 43m NW-SE by a maximum of 41m NE-SW. The moat has an average width of 13m and a maximum depth of 1.5m. The north-west fishpond is connected to the moat by a leat 5m long and has maximum dimensions of 25m by 20m. The south-west fishpond is also connected to the moat by a leat 30m long by 5m wide. This fishpond is 22m by 16m. Both junctions between the leats and the moat are slightly narrowed and the silting pattern suggests that wooden sluices would have controlled the flow of water. There is no evidence that the moat island was ever occupied and it was probably created as part of the fish husbandry on the site. The site was probably part of the estate of Black Notley Hall (EHER 6431). The church (EHER 6432) and a barn (EHER 27558) nearby are contemporary with the construction of the fishponds. <11> March 1999. Field survey. Moat in field adjoining Black Notley churchyard on the north. Dry moat, in good condition, surrounds an island approximately 16m sq. Average depth of moat 1.5m. Two rectangular depressions associated with the site, one adjoining the north arm, the other south-east of the moat is connected to it by a shallow ditch. The shallow ditch connecting the south-east arm to main site has been bridged with earth at one point to allow access to the eastern side of the field. A series of dry depressions situated on gently sloping pasture east of Black Notley church (EHER 6432). The central feature is a moated island, comprising four rectangular fishponds centred TL 7620 2071. They measure overall 40m sq. by 2m deep with central island 16m sq. No trace of any structure was found on the island. To the north at TL 7618 2074 is a rectangular depression 38m by 20m and 0.7m deep connected on it's south-east angle by a shallow ditch. It is doubtful if this feature held water as its base is sloping. Its lower side appears to post-date the northern arm of the rectangular fishponds. A further fishpond at TL 7636 2067, measuring 26 by 18 and 0.2m deep, is connected by a ditch to the central ponds. The moat earthworks survive as described above. Scarps too slight to be surveyed at this scale but suggestive of building foundations were visible on the moat island. On all sides of the moat ditch there is evidence of some reworking, in particular a shallow scoop of material having been quarried away in the north-west corner. The header pond to the north of the moat has been interpreted as a depression caused by bomb damage during the Second World War when part of the church roof was also destroyed but this is clearly not the case. The header pond has, however, been infilled, obscuring the original base and leaving a sloping and uneven internal surface that presumably prompted the source to question the feature's ability to hold water. Broad ridge and furrow was recorded to the north of the moat, 8m wide on a north-west to south-east orientation. Further ridge and furrow lies in the field to the south at right angles to this orientation and at a width of only 5m. Other, later earthworks were also noted in this field, including modern drainage cuts and a building platform measuring 12m by 27m. The steep-sided, water-filled ditch immediately north of here appears to be an ornamental garden feature associated with Black Notley Hall (EHER 6431). <12> <13> See cropmark plot and aerial photographs. <14> - <18> Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import.