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Summary

Ringwork known as 'The Round Moat' and associated earthworks 175m south east of St Mary's Church

Monument Type(s):

• MOAT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• YARD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• STRUCTURE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FISHPOND (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds:

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events:

• Excavations at The Round Moat, Fowlmere, 1906-1907
• Excavations at the Round Moat, Fowlmere, 1975
• Trial trench at Round Moat, Fowlmere, 1992 (Ref: FOW MT 92)

Protected Status:

• Scheduled Monument () 1014823: Ring work, known at 'The Round Moat', and associated earthworks 175m south east of St Mary's Church

Full description

R1, The Round Moats. This embanked and ditched oval enclosure is situated 150 yds SE of the church. The area of the site is a little over an acre. The wet moat was supplied from a small stream flowing past on the E side. The whole enclosure is now covered with trees and a luxuriant growth of nettles suggestive of former habitation. The moat was 30ft wide and 11ft deep before silting up, while the bank, which is strongest on the N side, attains a height of 6ft. The original entrance seems to have been on the NW. In 1906 the Rev AC Yorke made some excavations on the site; as far as the work threw any light on the matter it suggested that the site was Med. The old name of the site was White's Close. The name of Robert White appears on the rent roll for 1447. In 1887, when the site was planted with trees to commemorate the Jubilee, a well was found and a yard paved with cobbles. This compares with the site of Flambard's Manor at Meldreth.

R10, Round Moats:- A perfect and wet moated, ramparted work of uncertain date - a rare type. The bank is planted with trees, the inside more or less open.

R2, Excavations by AC Yorke 1906.

R5, Excavations by PJ Murphy 1975 between moat and ditch, pottery, animal bones, iron objects, slight traces of occupation. Evidence of adjoining enclosure.

O2, A small oval ring work of unusual type very strongly defended for its size the bank being 7ft - 12ft above natural level, while the moat is 20ft wide, and as originally excavated, 11ft in depth below ground levels. The waters of the adjacent brook were led into the moat by a channel now silted up. There are two entrances both possibly original. Tentative excavations were made in 1908 but these failed to yield any objects which would give a definite clue to the date of the works but that it belongs to prehistoric or early historic times may be assumed with some certainty. The site which lies to SE of St Mary's Church is oval rather than round, measuring approximately 70m N - S and 110m W - E across the interior platform. This is grass covered in the centre where the tree cover is thin, and shows regrowth of nettles and brambles where mature trees and scrub are supported. Some trees are dead and there is a certain amount of dead wood on the ground. The interior is criss-crossed by footpaths and surrounded by a moat with banks varying in height being strongest to N. The moat is possibly 6m wide at one point to N and wet in varying degrees throughout 2/3rds of its length appearing to receive a little water through a drain though the flow is minimal and the water brackish. There is a quantity of rubbish dumped in the moat and in a small pond in the interior. This is of vegetable waste matter as well as ironwork, oil drums, concrete etc. Except to the E the site is surrounded by new housing development some of whose gardens have encroached onto the outer bank of the moat with consequent shrub and tree planting.

03, According to Stokes, "The moat is surrounded on NW, W and S sides by a housing estate. The moat and island are being overrun; in flat country by a stream in village."

S1, Round Moat.

R9, Moat, associated fish pond.

O5, A sub-circular, strong, moated enclosure, situated on level ground, with overall dimensions of 130m NE - SW by 100m NW -SE. The ditch is dry, with an average depth of 1,6m and width of 10,0m. There has been some recent recutting on the N side. On the inner edge of the ditch is a bank, of average height 1,5m broken in the S and W sides to allow access to the interior. The S entrance is formed by a causeway across the moat, and is probably original. The W entrance has no causeway and seems to be later. On the outer edge of the ditch there is a bank, max height 0,3m on the NW side. The water led from a ditch on the SW side and the outlet was through a stone culvert on the N side. In a field to the NW there are two dry ponds, one of which is joined to the moat. They suggest an outer enclosure but appear to be of later date, and unconnected with the earthwork. An excavation in this field by PJ Murphy in 1975 produced evidence of Medieval occupation but no outer enclosure. Between the moat and the stream on the NE side is a subrectangular, dry fishpond, 110,0m long by 30,0m wide. It is banked on its NE, SE and SW sides and has a max depth of 1,5m in the S angle. The shallowness of the NW end is probably the result of silting, as a ditch has been cut across it from the moat outfall to the adjacent stream. The pond is probably a later adjunct to the moat. No surface evidence of occupation could be found within the inner area of the moat, which is generally in good condition, although dense scrub and undergrowth made investigation difficult. At TL/4236/4577 there is a small dry pond. Published 25in survey revised.

R16, A trial trench was excavated by Gary Haley of CCC Archaeology in order to determine whether water-logged deposits survive and whether removal of recent silts would enable water to be restored. The ditch profile, unexpectedly steep-sided and flat-bottomed, was recorded, but all deposits were completely dry.

<11> The monument includes a medieval ringwork, an adjacent pond and the buried remains of a medieval building associated with the site's water management system. It is situated to the south of Fowlmere High Street, some 175m to the south east of the early 14th century parish church.
The ringwork comprises a roughly oval stronghold, fortified by an earthen bank and an external ditch. The bank, or rampart, which forms a wider arc around the eastern side of the monument than to the west, encloses an area measuring about 95m north east to the south west and 65m north west to south east. The interior slopes gently towards the north where the bank reaches a maximum height of about 2m, approximately 1m above the height recorded elsewhere around the perimeter. During the period of occupation, the bank would probably have been surmounted by a wooden palisade. Material for the construction of the ramparts was quarried from an 8m wide external ditch, or moat, which completely encircled the ringwork and would have provided an additional means of defence. Despite the gradual accumulation of silts within the base, the ditch still reaches an average depth of c.1.5m. The southern arc of the moat is largely dry, as was the remainder of the circumference until a channel was dug along the base in 1902. This channel has subsequently been recut and extended, and now carries water around approximately 75% of the perimeter. The original water source, a channel entering the moat from the south, has been built over by part of the residential development which surrounds all but the north eastern side of the ringwork. A more limited supply is now provided by a series of drains leading from the estate which enter the moat on the south eastern, and eastern sides. The outflow runs through a narrow leat which links the north eastern side of the moat to a field boundary ditch some 50m to the north.
Access to the interior of the ringwork is provided by a 4m wide gap in the centre of the southern arm of the rampart, and by a 3m wide break in the north western part of the defences. The southern entrance way is approached by a causeway, 5m in width, spanning the ditch. The north western entrance is thought to have originally been served by a bridge.
In 1887, workmen planting trees within the interior discovered a well and part of a cobbled surface. In 1906, the Rev A C Yorke undertook a series of exploratory excavations within the ringwork. Trenches cut between both entranceways revealed further cobbled areas, and part of a similar surface (thought to represent a yard) was found in the northern part of the interior. The ditch adjacent to the southern entrance was found to have been originally some 3m in depth, silts having accumulated to a depth of about 1.8m. This was confirmed by later, more detailed examination of the ditch in 1992 which revealed steep sloping sides and a flat base. A small, dry, pond measuring approximately 18m by 6m, lies approximately 15m to the east of the southern entranceway, within the interior of the ringwork. This was also investigated in 1906 and found to contain silts to a depth of about 0.6m overlying a bed of broken flints. In the centre of the interior, Yorke's trenches revealed deposits of organic material to a depth of about 1m containing fragments of animal bone and medieval pottery.
A broad channel formerly extended some 50m to the north from the north western angle of the moat. The area between the ringwork and the parish church (termed Church Close on a tithe map dated 1850) was the subject of a rescue excavation in 1875, prior to a residential development. This investigation revealed a parallel ditch some 45m to the east of the moat extension. Traces of structures and a series of occupation surfaces dating to the 13th and 14th centuries were discovered in the area between these two features, possibly representing activities contemporary with the occupation of the ringwork. This area is however, overlain by housing and is not included in the scheduling. The north eastern arm of the ringwork is flanked by a large, roughly rectangular pond, measuring approximately 110m north west to south east and between 25m and 35m north east to south west. The pond, which is currently dry, is defined by inward facing scarps which descend to about 1m below the level of the surrounding ground on all but the north western side. This side was surveyed in the mid 1970s, but has been buried by subsequent landscaping. The north eastern scarp lies parallel to a brook, formalised as a field drain, which runs northwards towards the River Cam. The south western edge curves inwards following the line of the ring defences and is separated from the moat by a distance of approximately 3m. Sample excavations undertaken in 1993 demonstrated that the base of the pond is formed by a natural boggy depression, possibly for use as a fishpond, or for the purpose of attracting wildfowl. There is no evidence for an inlet channel leading from the adjacent brook, and the pond is thought to have been supplied with water from the moat, perhaps via a narrow break visible in the north eastern bank. The pond is therefore considered to be a later adjunct to the ringwork which could only have functioned whilst the moat was maintained. The drainage channel associated with the later reinstatement of the northern part of the moat passes through the break in the north eastern perimeter and is cut through the accumulated deposits within the pond.
The excavations in 1993 included a trial trench within the roughly triangular area which separates the moat from the eastern corner of the pond. A thick lay of upcast material containing medieval pottery was discovered, which is thought to relate to the cleaning of the moat in the medieval period. Beneath this lay the remains of a medieval structure composed of a sequence of occupation layers 0.3m in depth and a related post hole. This structure is associated with an infilled stream channel, also revealed by excavation, and is considered to be of particular importance for the understanding of the water management system surrounding the ringwork.
The rent roll of 1447 records the ringwork in the possession of Robert White, whose name was subsequently connected with the site which was known as Whites Close. The 1850 tithe map shows the ringwork as an old enclosure containing pasture, termed 'The Round Moats', a name which is still applied to the monument. At this time the ringwork was held by trustees on behalf of Mary Douglas and Anne Mitchell and occupied by a tenant, Thomas Nash. Trees were planted in the interior in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Few of these survived when the site was described in 1906, although the site has subsequently become wooded.

Classification:
Status: Manorial
Building: Occupied:no
Water supply: surface and stream
Associated mill no
Surface finds no
Aerial photos no
Enclosure plan single
Enclosure type circular
Enclosure banks internal
Wet moat
Size: width: 10m - 12m; depth: 1m - 1,5m to water
Appendages: 1 pond inside
Ridge and furrow: no

13. Between the moat and the stream on the NE side is a sub-rectangular, dry fishpond, 110.0m long by 30.0m wide. It is banked on its NE, SE and SW sides and has a max depth of 1.5m in the S angle. The shallowness of the NW end is probably the result of silting, as a ditch has been cut across it from the moat outfall to the adjacent stream. The pond is probably a later adjunct to the moat.
No surface evidence of occupation could be found within the inner area of the moat, which is generally in good condition, although dense scrub and undergrowth made investigation difficult.
At TL 42364577 there is a small dry pond.
Published 25" survey revised.

15. TL 444458 (SIC) Excavation by B Murphy concentrated on an enclosure 50m sq with water on 3 sides, which adjoined the moat. Finds from the excavations are deposited in the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge.

<1> Salzman, L.F (ed), 1948, The Victoria County History of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. Volume 2, 30, (ill) (Bibliographic reference). SCB14649.

<2> Yorke, A.C., 1908, The Round Moat at Fowlmere. PCAS 12: 114-9, p. 114-119 (Article in serial). SCB10350.

<3> O'Reilly, M., 1936, Cambridgeshire Ancient Monuments Committee: PCAS 36: xiv (Article in serial). SCB10586.

<4> Taylor, A., 1976, Excavations in Cambridgeshire, 1975. PCAS 66: 175-6 (Article in serial). SCB10860.

<5> Murphy, B.P.J., 1977, Excavation near the Round Moat, Fowlmere. PCAS 67: 69-78, p. 69 (Article in serial). SCB10269.

<6> Parish Enclosure Map (Map). SCB10016.

<7> Conybeare, History of Cambs, p. 14 (Bibliographic reference). SCB2466.

<8> Addit Charters 27, 338, (1447) (Bibliographic reference). SCB220.

<9> 1903, OS 6 inch map (Map). SCB8987.

<10> CAAM Rec 6in (Index). SCB1744.

<11> 1998, Monument Number 24430 (formerly 8) (Scheduling record). SCB16743.

<12> Spoerry, P. and Hinman, M., 2007, Early Saxon and medieval remains adjacent to the round moat, Fowlmere. PCAS 96: 135-42 (Article in serial). SCB20672.

<13> Mason, G.J., Field Investigator Comments, 13/12/76 (Verbal communication). SCB60631.

<14> English Heritage, 2001, Scheduled Monument Notification (Unknown reference type). SCB60596.

<15> Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1976, Medieval Britain in 1975. Med Arch 20: 158-201 (Article in serial). SCB7403.

<16> Taylor, A., 1992, Annual Report of the County Archaeological Office 1991/2 (Unpublished report). SCB1787.

<17> Taylor, A., 1992, Annual Report 1990 Archaeology Office (Unpublished report). SCB18731.

Sources and further reading

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