Monument Type(s):

• MANOR (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1901 AD)
• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1901 AD)
• MOAT (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1901 AD)
• MOATED SITE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1901 AD)
• FARMSTEAD (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1901 AD)

Summary

The moated site forming the centre of the manor of Dothill. The manor house itself, in the NE corner of the moated platform, went through various modifications including the destruction of much of the medieval structure in the early 19th century. The remainder of this structure was demolished in 1960. The moated platform was incorporated into the later post medieval gardens on the site.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA2720 - 1982 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA2721 - 1989 evaluation at Dothill Moat, Telford by BUFAU
• ESA4637 - 1989 DBA at Dothill Moat by BUFAU
• ESA5914 - 2000 site visit by English Heritage MPP Fieldworker
• ESA4997 - 1996-1997 WB on development of Harley Close, Dothill by Giffords
• ESA5002 - 1995 evaluation at Harley Close, Dothill by Gifford & Partners Ltd

Description

A C17 estate map shows 3 sides of a rectangular moat still extant around Dothill House. <1>

Only the SE side of the moat is still extant, and this has been partly filled in since it was recorded on the OS 1:2500 map of 1967. <2>

The rectangular moat originally measured 50m x 70m. It had been partly filled in except for the S arm, and made into a canal. <3>

Dothill Moat is known from documentary sources to have been the site of a medieval manor. A 1626 plan shows a large house with outbuildings, and the remains of a moat around the garden at the southern end of the house. In the C18 the house was extended to the north, and in the C19 the earlier part of the house was demolished. The site was finally abandoned and cleared in the 1960s. The development of the house from the C17 onwards is well documented by a series of estate maps of 1626, 1734, 1756, 1764, 1776 and 1793. In 1626 Dothill house consisted of a five bayed N/S range with a two storied porch to the east. The range appears to have incorporated an earlier, probably medieval three bayed hall. … The moat was partially infilled to accommodate the then recent expansion of the house…A cluster of agricultural buildings …. Lay to the north, an arrangement which continued up to the C20. In July 1989 BUFAU undertook an evaluation of the site for Wrekin District Council. The main purpose of the evaluation was to assess the survival and quality of the archaeological deposits in that part of the site threatened by proposed development. This area lay to E of the projected outline of the moat. Two trenches were dug in this area. Trench 1 encountered a C17 / C18 rubbish pit and two E/W brick walls F10 and F11. F11 abutted another brick wall at right angles. A brick floor was found in the angle thus formed. F11 was identified as part of the NE section of a dumbbell-shaped block of buildings shown on the plans of 1626 and 1734…F10 was probably part of a boundary wall. No trace of the moat or medieval occupation was found in Trench 1. Trench 2 cut across two truncated ditches, one containing a sherd of medieval pottery. A 4m wide, 1m deep feature revetted with a brick wall was also found. This was interpreted as the ha -ha bounding the grounds of the post medieval house. No trace of the moat was found, although the ha-ha could have represented a post medieval northwards extension of its eastern arm. The third trench was cut E/W across the S half of the moated site. The earliest feature encountered was a N/S ditch, F5, 2.2m wide which could not be full excavated. Its upper fills produced a C17 sherd. A cobbled surface, F15, was also found, possibly a pathway, and a 4.5m length of brick wall which post-dated it. This had been truncated and sealed by a layer of C19 rubble. There were drains on either side of the wall . Both wall and drains were C18 in date, as was a sandstone wall which ran over part of the cobbling, and may have been a garden feature. ->

-> No features definitely associated with the moated platform were recorded in any of the trenches. <4>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Medium score as one of 133 Moated sites. <6>

The moated site of Dothill lies in the northern part of Wellington, in an area which over the last 20 years or so has been developed for housing. In the 13th century the manor of Dothill was held by the de Praeres family, but by the late 14th century it appears that the Hortons had gained possession. In the later Middle Ages Dothill house occupied the north western angle of the moated island, which measured approximately 50m by 70m. An estate map of 1626 shows a five bayed north-south range, incorporating a three bayed hall with a tall east facing oriel at its solar end. Opposite the oriel a west projecting wing had been added, and beyond the service end the main range had been extended southwards. To the south of the house lay formal gardens, which were defined by the moat. The northern half of the moat is shown as having been infilled by this date. Further alterations to the house were made in the 18th century and the surrounding ground was extensively landscaped at this time. The house was demolished in about 1960. ->

-> An archaeological evaluation conducted here in 1989. As part of this exercise a trench was dug across the island. The remains of some structural features of 17th and 18th century date were found, but little evidence of medieval occupation. All that now remains visible of the moat is the south eastern arm, which survives as a pond. A path and cycleway cross the site and its centre is a children's play area. <7>

A programme of archaeological evaluation was carried out on a site at Harley Close, Dothill in 1995, consisting of desk-based assessment and trial trenching. The desk-based research revealed that Dothill Manor is extraordinarily well documented, especially in the survival of six estate maps dating from 1626 to 1793. These maps, together with information on manorial ownership available in relatively accessible secondary sources, allowed an unusually detailed account of the Manors’ development and demise (from 1626 to the present) to be compiled. Of particular relevance, it was possible to demonstrate that the Manor and its formal gardens (PRN 07766) were located to the south of the proposed development area. The documentary evidence could not provide detailed information on the Manor prior to 1626, the degree of survival of manorial remains within the proposed development area, or the possible presence of early-Medieval or Saxon manorial remains. The sample excavation consisted of seven small trenches initially excavated mechanically and subsequently by hand. The trenches were carefully located in relation to manorial features identified from the desk-based research – primarily walls and buildings. Each predicted feature was located, sample excavated and recorded. As is common in small-scale sample excavation, the excavation of features did not provide any more accurate dating of the post-Medieval Manor than was derived from the desk-based research. One possible element of the elaborate formal gardens of c. 1734 – 1793 was also recorded (PRN 07766). <9>

Further to the evaluation carried out at Dothill (<9>), a watching brief was undertaken during the construction of a series of house plots across this site. Elements of the post-medieval agricultural usage of this site were recorded. Structural remains in the form of brick-built walls, sandstone ashlar walls, a brick-built culvert, a brick-built flue and interior and exterior floor/yard surfaces were recorded during the watching brief. These remains can be related to a complex of buildings known to have been in existence on the site since the early 17th century. Clearly the early buildings had been subject to considerable re-development in the late 18th century and later. No remains pre-dating the structures of the early 17th century (1626) were observed during the watching brief. <10>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.