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CHER Number:01147
Type of record:Monument
Name:Moated site at Lopham's Hall, Carlton

Summary - not yet available

Grid Reference:TL 647 520
Parish:Carlton, South Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire

Monument Type(s):

Protected Status:

  • SHINE: Medieval moated site at Lopham's Hall, Carlton

Full description

S1, Lopham's Hall.
S3, Moat at Lopham's Hall 0,5 mile SE of Carlton Church. This is the site of the manor house of Carlton Parva, successively known as Barbedor's and Lopham's. In its present form it consists of a roughly oval area, with long and short axes measuring 300 and 250 ft , surrounded by a wide and deep moat which is still wet round the greater part of its length. The site stands towards the foot of a hill-side sloping gently from the E, with the result that on the E side the moat, 30 ft wide, has a depth of 12ft, with water 12 ft wide at the bottom. This width is maintained all the way round, though the surface of the water is nearly at ground level on the W side where the level falls. There are two breaks in the circuit, both of them comparatively Mod. one on the W side carries the approach road to the C17 farmhouse in the middle of the moated area and the other is a considerable stretch on the SW, where the moat has been filled up. The great mass of earth which must have been removed in digging this moat is nowhere apparent and the inner verge carries no bank, nor has any attempt been made to level up the slope of the enclosed area. An unusual feature is around flat topped mound, deeply ditched round, standing just outside the moat to the S. The mound is 20 ft across the top and does not exceed the surrounding ground in height, so that it is not the product of digging the wide and deep ditch which surrounds it. This ditch touches the moat of the main site , but it is not clear whether it was originally joined to it. That there was originally some connection can hardly be in doubt, and at the present day water which collects in the mound moat flows out to the main one by a gap. The purpose of the mound is doubtful. It is not either sufficiently large or correctly placed for a barbican, and the original entrance must have been by a bridge across the moat on the W side. It seems to fulfil no possible defensive purpose and it may have been part of some garden scheme and carried a gazebo or summerhouse. The age of the main moat is unknown , but it may be surmised from its strength that its purpose was defensive and that it belongs to the earlier part of the Middle Ages. Its unusual oval form is not necessarily evidence of early date, as the nature of the ground and slope of the hill make a normal rectangular plan inconvenient, and the plan shows distinct signs of a more angular development on the lower ground to the W. It is probable that the moat was first dug round an already existing building.
O1, Now destroyed: the ditch was filled in at least 12 years ago according to the cow man who has worked here that long. It can still be traced as boundary of the house's grounds. The C17 house is derelict. The grounds have been planted with trees but have otherwise been left to become overgrown. Not recommended for scheduling due to its poor comndition.
S2, In Cambs.........field evidence suggests that some moats were constructed around pre-existing buildings as at Lopham's Hall......In some cases where the moat is set on sloping ground, no attempt has been made even to level up the interior.
O2, The fill of building rubble shows clearly and parts of the E side are still slightly depressed. The S mound has been completely razed and the W pond is now marked by a small depression.
Status: manorial
Building: yes C17 and earlier
Occupied: yes
Water supply:
Associated mill no
Surface finds no
Aerial photos no
Enclosure plan single
Enclosure type circular
Enclosure banks none
dry moat Size: width: ? depth: ?
Appendages: ponds
Ridge and furrow: none

3. Lopham's Hall Farm (name confirmed) is as described by Authy 2 but is now unoccupied and semi derelict. The surrounding moat and associated features have been completely destroyed and afforested. See OS APs.
Published 25" survey revised on AM.

5. Listed as a possible castle by Cathcart King.


<1> Salzman, L.F (ed), 1948, The Victoria County History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. Volume 2, (1967 reprint), 4 (Bibliographic reference). SCB14649.

<2> 1960, OS 6 inch map (Map). SCB8922.

<3> Stevens, P.A., Field Investigator Comments (Verbal communication). SCB60592.

<4> DOE, Dec 1956, DOE list South Cambridgeshire RD (Unpublished document). SCB5428.

<5> Cathcart King, D.J., Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. Volume I : Anglesey - Montgomery (Bibliographic reference). SCB61251.

<6> OS AP 76 059 065-6 (Aerial Photograph). SCB63653.

<7> 1941, National Building Record Index, 10116 (Index). SCB60593.

Sources and further reading

<1>Bibliographic reference: Salzman, L.F (ed). 1948. The Victoria County History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. Volume 2. (1967 reprint), 4.
<2>Map: 1960. OS 6 inch map.
<3>Verbal communication: Stevens, P.A.. Field Investigator Comments.
<4>Unpublished document: DOE. Dec 1956. DOE list South Cambridgeshire RD.
<5>Bibliographic reference: Cathcart King, D.J.. Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. Volume I : Anglesey - Montgomery.
<6>Aerial Photograph: OS AP 76 059 065-6.
<7>Index: 1941. National Building Record Index. 10116.

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