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Summary

Rectangular medieval moated site, with outer enclosures & associated drainage leats and ponds. Believed to be the site of Everton Manor.

Full Description

<1> Victoria County History, Huntingdonshire, Vol. 1, 1926, p. 306 (Bibliographic reference). SBD11046.

Storey's Moats, Tetworth: Main moat encloses rectangle, 250' x 250', with small exrescence at SW corner.

<2> Victoria County History, Huntingdonshire, Vol. 2, 1932, pp. 370-373 (Bibliographic reference). SBD11046.

2 moats which can still be traced in the isolated portion of Everton (now said to form part of Tetworth), probably mark site of Manor House of Everton or Everton Bury, the principal manor, & that of the manor which was held of it.
Story Moats bears name of C17 & C18 owners of the principal manor.
1306, Everton manor went to Walter de Langton, Bishop of Coventry & Lichfield; 1312 he received a grant of 12 oaks for repairing his houses at Everton & Offord Daneys.
1693 - in Story hands. From this time, manor appears to have been absorbed into submanors of Mowsbury & Biggin.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Record Cards, OS: TL 25 SW 3; WEJM 13.2.1969 (Unpublished document). SBD10879.

Moats - site of 11th C Manor House.
(TL 2044 5188) Story Moats (OS 6" 1960)

Homestead moat with an outer enclosure on the west side (RCHM Hunts, 1926, 271)

It is considered to be the site of the probable 11th c manor house of Everton or Everton Bury (mentioned in Domesday). The name comes from the 17th and 18th century owners of the manor. (VCH Hunts, 2, 1932, 370).

<4> Bedford Archaeological Society, List of moated sites, December 1972 (Unpublished document). SBD10794.

Listed as moat

<5> Department of the Environment, Ancient Monuments Record Form, Story Moats TL 205 519 (Unpublished document). SBD11883.

A complicated moated site, the inner moat encloses a rectangular area, now covered with thick scrub of approx 91m square. The inner moat has been partly filled in but its lines can be treced on enclosed area to NW of the inner moat. This is towards the low lying land. The ground rises steeply on the E side of the site. [Anon, n.d.]

Moated site heavily wooded & overgrown with scrub and weeds. There were a number of dead elms. Surrounding area lies in a large area of permanent pasture. A drainage ditch had been cut at some time in NE corner. (C Gordon, 1979)

Dead elms had been cleared from outer bank on SW and SE sides, and the ditch cleared (C Gordon, 1980)

Moat wet round 2 sides but some dead wood. Interior still very heavily overgrown with trees, scrub and undergrowth. The additional area (scheduled in May 1982) is under pasture. There is some animal disturbance on the site. (H Paterson, 1982).

<6> Bedfordshire & Luton Archives and Records Service Documents, BLARS: MA/73/1, Map, 1802 (Unpublished document). SBD10551.

"The Park" old enclosure adjacent to Story Moats, (old enclosure no 125). Owned by Clare College, Cambridge.

<7> Neville Hall, Comments (Observations and Comments). SBD12314.

Located at OS grid ref TL 2050 5180 (the park).

<8> Neville Hall, Comments (Observations and Comments). SBD12314.

Probably park of manor of Everton Bury.

<9> Bedfordshire & Luton Archives and Records Service Documents, BLARS: MA/73/1, Enclosure Map, 1802 (Unpublished document). SBD10551.

"Stable yard", old enclosure adjacent to Story Moats (old enclosure no 138). Landowners, Clare College, Cambridge.

<10> RAF, 1945-1955, RAF Aerial Photos, UK 2024/4075 (1947) (Aerial Photograph). SBD10536.

Cropmarks located within scheduled area of Storey Moats on aerial survey photographs. TL 2045 5180

<10> Hunting Surveys, 1968, Hunting Aerial Photos 1968, Run 17, photo 7674 (Aerial Photograph). SBD10637.

Cropmarks located within scheduled area of Storey Moats on aerial survey photographs. TL 2045 5180.

<11> Neville Hall, Comments (Observations and Comments). SBD12314.

Possible location of rectangular building or small rectilinear enclosure, on easternmost cropmark.

<12> Christopher C Taylor (RCHME), Anthony E Brown, 1981/1982, Earthwork Survey Plans, Earthwork survey plan and commentary, 1981 (Plan). SBD10871.

Story Moats is clearly the site of a major farmstead and presumably manor house, probably of the 13th or 14th century, the major buildings being on the moated island and with certainly fish-breeding tanks and perhaps outbuildings in the attached ditched enclosure. The moat itself was fed by springs along its S.E. side, supplimented by water from the hillside above which reached the moat from two separate sources each of which passed through a series of leats and fishponds before reaching the moat. Other water from these ponds may have passed to the N. of the moat through another series of ponds or ditches. The water in the moat itself flowed out of the moat through another series of ponds or ditches. The water in the moat itself flowed out of its north corner and into another pond and most, if not all of this, then ran north into yet another small pond. This was supplimented by another source of water from a spring near the south corner of the outer enclosure which filled the south west and north west ditches of that enclosure before entering the pond on the north east side.
Recent drainage work has altered the drainage of the area considerably. All the water from the moat and the south east fishponds now flows along a modern cut north from the north corner of the outer enclosure, while the water which formerly flowed round the outer enclosure now passes through a modern cut from its west corner. There is also a recent drainage channel at the north east end of the north west side of the outer enclosure.

Because of its situation within a clearly defined and ancient land-unit the site cannot just be a medieval moat. It must have much older origins with presumably a long history of occupation before the moat was constructed. Its value, in terms of settlement history, is thus far higher than the mere remaining earthworks, interesting though they may be, would suggest.

<13> English Heritage, SAM Record Form, County no. 74 (Scheduling record). SBD10803.

A fine example of a small medieval moated site, but in addition has most if not all its former out-works remaining reasonably intact {8}.
A complicated moated site, the inner moat encloses a rectangular area, now covered with thick scrub, of approx 91m square. The outer moat has been pretty well filled in, but its lines can be traced on enclosed area to northwest of the inner moar. This is towards the low-lying land; teh ground rises steeply on east side of site. {1}
Moated site nearly wooded and overgrown with scrub/weeds. There were a number of dead elms surrounding area; lies in a large field of permanent pasture. A drainage ditch had been cut at some time in north east corner. {2}
Dead elms had been cleared from outer bank on southwest and southeast sides, and ditch cleared. {3}
Moat wet round two sides, but some dead wood. Interior still very heavily overgrown with trees, scrub and undergrowth. The additional area (scheduled in May 1982) is under pasture. There is some animal disturbance on site. {4}
Moat wet throughout most of its length, as is fishpond. Interior heavily overgrown, with a fair amount of dead wood. Hardcore to north has been constructed, but that to west proposed by owners and mentioned in previous report not evident. No fences or gates yet constructed. A large straw stack positioned within SA in the northwest corner. A reservoir and associated pumping station have been constructed to north of SA. Possible lynchets noted in field to southeast in addition area. {6}. {7}
Quantities of archaeological material from C13-C19 dates including pottery, roof tiles/clay pipes have been noted on the site revealed by rabbit disturbance. {8}
Area to south and south east under pasture, with patches of nettles and thistles. Except for the pond in the north east corner, all water courses are now dry, most choked with dead wood and/or scrub. A little water seen under scrub to north. Some mature trees show evidence of dying off. The straw stack in north west corner mentioned above has been removed and returned to grassland. {9}

<14> A. E. Brown, C. C. Taylor, 1991, Moated Sites in Northern Bedfordshire: some surveys and wider implications, pp. 2-7 (Article in serial). SBD11031.

The site lies 0.5km (c0.25 mile) north of Everton village, on clay, at the foot of the north-west facing Greensand Escarpment at 150ft above OD. It is situated at a point where the generally even face of the scarp has been eroded by sapping of springs to form a broad open combe. The adjacent scarp, especially to the south, has many springs and well-marked land=slips both recent and ancient. There is thus evidence for copious supplies of water to fill the moat and its associated ponds.
A) The main moated site (Fig 2a) comprises an almost sqaure flat-topped level island completely surrounded by a broad water-filled ditch up to 2.5m deep. In the south-western corner there is a small projection into the ditch which is probably the site of the original entrance to the island. Disturbance by rabbits in a number of places has revealed thirteenth/fourteenth-century to late sixteenth/nineteenth century sherds, medieval roof and floor tiles, as well as tiles and clay pipes, perhaps the result of dumping.
Access to the island is now by a narrow causeway across the ditch on teh south-eastern side, but this is certainly a secondary feature and has a modern culvert through it. Modern disturbance along the edge of the ditch just south of this causeway produced large quantities of medieval roof and floor tiles, a small number of thirteenth and fourteenth century sherds, as well as some post medieval material. The ditch on the north west side and on the north western side of the north-eastern side has a broad outer bank up to 1m high which is technically a dam, holding the water within the ditch behind it.
B) The outer enclosure (Fig. 2b) This, of roughly trapezoidal shape, is bounded on three sides by a ditch up to 1.5m deep which has a well-marked inner bank up to 1m high. Another bank outside the ditch on the north-west side, forms a dam to hold the water. The north-eastern side of the enclosure is occupied by a large sub-rectangular pind, 2m deep, with inner and outer bank.
Within, are two small shallow rectangular fish ponds only 0.25m deep; also two low and very degraded scarps, 0.75m high, apparently forming inner divisions to the enclosure, as well as a low spread bank.
C) SE pond complex (Fig 2c) To the south-east of the main moated site, on the higher ground, are a set of ponds and leats. On the north, a spring feeds a small stream which runs into a roughly traingular pond, cut up to 3m deep into the hillside. Its water passes through a modern cut into a small rectangular pond, and thence into a very large rectangular one. All the ponds have been altered in relatively recent times but are presumably medieval. These three ponds, as well as the ditches around the inner and outer enclosures, are shown as water-filled on the enclosure map of c1804 (BRO MA73/1).
Further south the land has been ploughed and re-seeded and the surviving earthworks are damaged and indistinct. However, the main features are still clear. Two separate springs in the wood are channelled into two shallow ditches which meet and run north-westwards as a single leat. This then turns north-north-east and enters another small rectangular pond. The latter has a major outlet leat running westwards into the main moat and another, very indistinct, leads into the surviving original end of the large rectangular pond. Within the rectangular area thus formed is a very indistinct sunken feature up to 2m deep and cut back into the rising land on the south-east, perhaps the remains of yet another large pond. The whole area is marked as Stallion Yard on teh 1804 map.
D) NE ditch system (Fig 2d) Here is a shallow ditch about 0.75m deep which runs south-wast - north-west, with two sharp bends in it. At its south-eastern end it probably once joined the large fishpond; the north-western end has also been damaged but almost certainly once extended further. It is possible that this apparent ditch is really the remains of three connected fishponds.
Between the south-eastern most of these 'ponds' and the main moat ditch are two flat terraces separated by a low scarp 0.25m high. This could be part of a garden of post-medieval date.
Further north-west and much damaged by later activities, is a small pond, apparently once fed by a channel extending through the outer enclosure dam from the pond on its north-eastern side.
E) Hollow-way (?) (Fig 2e) Immediately south of the projection in the south-western corner of the main moated site is a broad ditch 1m deep. It has no obvious function unless it is a hollow-way or approach track to the moats. Beyond the modern hedge there is a certain hollow-way but it does not meet the presumed hollow-way end-on.
The name Story Moats enables the site to be identified as that of the main manor of Everton township, the ownership of which can be traced from the Story family, which bought it in 1659, back to Domesday, when it was said to belong to Rannulf the son of Ilger. There is a reference to it in anextent of 1322 of the property of Walter Langton, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, the then owner, when a capital messuage with garden is referred to: in 1312 the bishop received twelve oaks form the king for the repair of his houses at Offord and Everton (VCH 1908, 277).
A topographical problem which requires resolution is the location of Story Moats within a long narrow strip of land, 3.5km (2.25 miles) long and almost 1km (0.5 miles) wide which ran roughly north-west - south-east across the escarpment (Fig 3). This land was, until recently, a detached part of Tetworth parish in Huntingdonshire to the north, itself a similar strip of land lying across the escarpment. Separating the two was a third piece of land, later part of Gamlingay parish, Cambridgeshire, but once certainly an independent land unit, centred on the present Woodbury Hall (RCHME 1968, 99). Similarly, to the south of the Story Moats land unit, the old parish of Everton was another long narrow strip of land, while north of Tetworth, Waresley parish is of similar form. The problem is to decide whether the Story Moats unit was a distinct township, with its own field system independent of that of Everton to the south. This can be solved by reference to grants of land in Everton recorded in teh St Neots Priory cartularty (BL MS Cott. Faust. AIV). These list the individual lands of each grant furlong by furlong; all the lands are said to lie in the fields of Everton. A number of the medieval furlong names can be matched up with field names given on the Everton enclosure map; it is clear that medieval furlongs mentioned in the cartulary lay on both sides of the boundary which separated the Bedfordshire land of Everton from the Huntingdonshire land of Story Moats on the eighteenth century map - i.e. In the Middle Ages this boundary did not exist in the form in which it appears on the enclosure and Ordnance maps, and there was only one Everton field system. This conclusion is supported by the way in which this boundary cuts through blocks of ridge-and-furrow shown on aerial photographs in a manner which indicates that the furlongs clearly came first.
An explanation for the creation of this internal boundary and for the separation of the territory of Everton into a Bedfordshire portion and a Huntingdonshire portion is to be sought in the tenurial history of the area. At Domesday there were two manors at Everton, a large seven-hide one with a demesne, nineteen villeins and two bordars, held by Rannulf directly with the king and said to be in Huntingdonshire, and a smaller five-hide one, with four villeins and two bordars, also held by Rannulf, but this time of Countess Judith, and said to be in Bedfordshire. It is clear that the larger manor also consisted of land in Tetworth in Huntingdonshire, which was not mentioned separately in Domesday. After the Conquest Judith's overlordship disappeared and both manors were initially held of the same lord, the Earl of Pembroke. But the division of Everton into two manors persisted until the late seventeenth century, both having different decents and, after the early fourteenth century, overlods (VCH 1908, 227). The larger manor (sometimes referred to in later documents as Everton Bury or Netherbury) continued to be thought of as in Huntingdonshire, being so shown in records of feudal tenure (Feudal Aids 1, 469, 473, 477); the smaller appears in lists of knights' fees and taxation records as in Bedfordshire (e.g. Taxation of 1297, 48).
If there was only one common field system for the whole township, then presumably some at least of the land of both manors would have lain intermingled in it. But this need not have applied to all the land; it is possible that some land belonging to the Huntingdonshire manor did lie in consolidated blocks in the northern part of the township. When Netherbury was converyed to Sir Humphrey Winch in 1600 the document which records the transfer describes the manor solely in terms of closes, not all of which can be securely identified by name on the enclosure map, but which appear to represent a substantial block of land in the north-east of the parish. The manor house, which seems still to have been occupied, lay in the middle of it. Similarly, seventeenth and eighteenth century documents which record sales and exchanges of land in Everton imply that in this part of the parish lay Huntingdon meadow, presumably the meadow belonging to Netherbury, and also a sheep pasture deemed to belong to the manor of Biggin, a small manor held of Netherbury and first heard of in the early fourteenth century. The boundary would therefore have come about through the linking together of these blocks of Huntingdonshire land by means of consolidation and enclosure; there is evidence in deeds that the latter at least was going on in the seventeenth century (BRO PM 2842, 2845).

<15> Mid Beds District Council, 1994, Beds Wildlife Working Group Manual of Wildlife Sites and Species Protection, p. 297 (Unpublished document). SBD10638.

A County Wildlife Site containing a diversity of habitats. County Wildlife Site comprises: a block of semi-natural broadleaved woodland at TL 206 517; Story Moats at TL 204 518, semi-natural broadleaved woodladn and moats surrounded by neutral grassland; a small area of tall swap vegetation centred at TL 2130 5199; a reservoir at TL 205 520 surrounded by bunds dominated by neutral grassland; two fields of neutral grassland at TL 206 518 separated by a track; Crow Grove, semi-natural broadleaved woodland, at TL 202 525; Storymoat Spinney, semi-natural broadleaved woodland, at TL 203 522; a stream forms part of the western boundary of the County Wildlife Site and flows adjacent to Crow Grove and Storymoat Spinney.

<16> English Heritage, Notification of Scheduling, or an Affirmation or Revision of Scheduling, 17/5/1982 (Scheduling record). SBD12102.

Notification of extension to scheduled area of Story Moats site.

<17> English Heritage, SAM Record Form, No. 11545 (Scheduling record). SBD10803.

The site comprises the remains of a medieval moated enclosure and associated outer enclosures, drainage leats and ponds. The moat is sub-square in shape, measuring 100m across including the surrounding ditches which measure up to 25m wide. A small projection at the south west corner of the island my mark the site of the original entrance. Modern access to the island is provided by a 2m wide causeway near the centre of the east arm. The island measures approx 50m across and has no upstanding remains of earlier buildings or features except for a low spread bank along the north east side. Part of an outer bank can be seen along the north west side and north angle.
The moat is central to a complex series of outworks, thought to be fishponds and water management works. These include a trapezoidal shaped enclosure adjacent to the north west side of the moat defined by banks, ditches and a pond. The enclosure contains two small fishponds as well as scarp slopes and banks which subdivide the interior. Adjacent to the north and north east sides of the moated enclosure are a further series of ponds, leats and earthworks which interconnect to form a related series of out-works.

<18> Bedfordshire County Council, 1970 - 2000s, HER Photograph Archive, F259/16-19 (Photograph). SBD10506.

Colour images of timbers (?1980/81).

<19> David Baker, Comments & Site Visit notes (Observations and Comments). SBD10964.

Site vist 22 Jan 1980 [?1981] in response to call via Bedford Museum about discovery of wood during drainage operations.
Mr J Button, farm manager for last 3-4 years, has begun a programme of agricultural improvement. So far this has involved (within the scheduled area):-
- cutting back scrub at the SW corner of the main moat
- dredging a section of the south part of the main moar
- making a culvert to take water from a pond to the east into the main moat.

Mr Button wants to carry out further works both within and adjacent to the scheduled area. He has agreed to delay these works until there has been an opportunity to discuss with him a land management scheme less archaeologically destructive, i.e. Until autumn.
DB agreed to contact DoE to seek clarification on whether an extra area should be scheduled, and to initiate discussion of land management.

<20> Transcripts of comments made by individuals to members of HER staff, Notes on ownership from Mr Storey of Nottinghamshire (Verbal communication). SBD10740.

Everton Manor probably now Storey Moats, in 1263 Nicholas Burnard 1307, passed to Walter Langdon Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, who obtained a grant of a market and fair at Everton. Everton Manor passed on his death to his nephew Edmund Peveral, he left a son John, from whom the Manor passed to Margaret, wife of William de la Pole, who held the Manor in 1354. Their son John de la Pole married Joan, daughter of John de Topham ? Had succeeded in 1359 her second husband Sir Reginald Braybroke in possession of Everton Manor in 1403 and held it till her death in 1433. Her daughter Joan married Sir Thomas Brooke and died about 1442. Her granddaughter Elizabeth Brooke held Everton Manor at her death in 1503. Her grandson William then aged 15 was her heir and held the Manor until 1530, when he was succeeded by his son Francis, whose son Clement died in 1587. In 1615 William Tansfield his son, conveyed the Manor, bu fine, to Sir Humphrey Winche. From Sir Humphrey Winche who died in 1624 the Manor passed through Onslow his son who was holding in 1652 to his grandson Humphrey, who in 1659 alienated the Manor the Philip Storey. In 1693 Philip Storey still held the Manor, of which no futher trace has been found. The Inclosure Act of 1807 makes no mention of this property, although the Ordnance Survey marks the site.

<21> English Heritage, General correspondence, 22/2/1990 (Unpublished document). SBD11860.

Correspondence re. proposed works to Scheduled site.

<22> DoE/MPBW Ancient Monument Record (Unpublished document). SBD11055.

A complicated moated site, the inner moat encloses a rectangular area, now covered with thisck scrub of approx 91m square. The inner moat has been partly filled in but its lines can be traced on enclosed area to NW of the inner moat. This is towards the low lying land. The ground rises steeply on teh E side of the site <1>. Moated site geavily wooded and overgrown with scrub and weeds. There were a number of dead elms. Surrounding area lies in a large field of permanent pasture. A drainage ditch had been cut at some time in NE corner <2>. Dead elms had been cleared from outer bank on SW and SE sides, and the ditch cleared <3>. Moat wet round two sides bit some dead wood. Interior still very heavily overgrown with trees, scrub and undergrowth. The additional area (Scheduled in May 1982) is under pasture. There is some annual disturbance on the site <4>.

<23> Correspondence, 11/5/1981 (Unpublished document). SBD10802.

Letter suggesting extension to scheduled area.

<24> Bedfordshire County Council, 1970 - 2000s, HER Photograph Archive, F1253/9-12, January 1999 (Photograph). SBD10506.

Colour images of moated site.

<25> NMR/AMIE, HE NRHE Monument Inventory, 366213 (Index). SBD12367.

Earthwork remains of a medieval moat and associated fishponds. Thought to be the site of an 11th century manor house.

<26> English Heritage, Notification of Scheduling, or an Affirmation or Revision of Scheduling, English Heritage Schedule of Ancient Monuments Amendment 06-Feb-1991. (Scheduling record). SBD12102.

The moat is sub-square in shape, 100m across including ditches measuring up to 25m wide. The possible remains of an original entrance lie at the SW corner. No upstanding features remain in the interior, except for a low spread bank along the NE side. Part of the outer bank remains along the NW side. A complex of earthworks outside the moated area is thought to be fishponds and water management works. Formerly scheduled as Beds No.74, now No.11545.

Protected Status:

• Archaeological Notification Area
• Archaeological Notification Area (AI) HER805: STOREY MOATS, Woodbury
• Scheduled Monument 1012300: Storey Moats moated enclosure, outer enclosures, drainage leats and ponds, Everton
• SHINE: Storey moats at Woodbury

Monument Type(s):

• FISHPOND (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• HOLLOW WAY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• MOAT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events: None recorded

Sources and Further Reading

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