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Shropshire HER

HER Number (PRN):01033
Name:Rhiews or Warandashale Moat
Type of Record:Monument
Protected Status:None recorded

Monument Type(s):

Summary

Degraded earthwork remains of a moated site of medieval date.

Parish:Moreton Say, North Shropshire, Shropshire
Map Sheet:SJ63NW
Grid Reference:SJ 6427 3748

Related records: None recorded

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

  • ESA1059 - 1962 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
  • ESA1060 - 1975 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
  • ESA1061 - 1977 field observation by Shropshire County Council
  • ESA1062 - 1981 field observation by Shropshire County Council

Description

Moated site situated on ground gently sloping E towards R Duckow which lies c45m to the E. It is sited c2-3 m above the water level. This formerly well preserved rectangular moat is now highly degraded due to ploughing, and is only just discernible. The island, which measures c45m x60m is raised and levelled to compensate for the general slope of the ground, but at present is only 0.25m above the surrounding ground level. It has no trace of any buildings. The ditch whose E half was formerly waterfilled is c 5m wide and 0.3m deep. There is no trace of a causeway. An outer retaining bank runs around the E half of the moat, this too was formerly a substantial feature, but is now very low and degraded. M Watson FI 1981 <4>

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

Vague cropmark visible on vertical aerial photography. <7>

Also known as 'Warandashale'; received a license to creneallte in 1295. <8>

The site is not mentioned as being fortified at any time after 1295, so there is the possibility that the license to crenellate never led to a fortification being built although the moat (c.45m x 60m is one of the larger moated sites among a cluster around Moreton Say which would suggest that it carried some status. <9>

Notes from NRHE without being further sourced [appears to be notes by Michael Fradley <10a>].
A moated site. No longer extant having been filled in during the later 20th century, but is still visible on aerial photographs. The site has been identified as 'warandashales' which was held by Richard de Pyvelsdon (Puleston?) in 1295 when it received a License to Crenellate. Richard may have been part of the Puleston family (the senior branch of which were based at Emral, Flintshire) who held several prominent positions in Shropshire and Wales during the 13th and 14th centuries, and whose name is commemorated in the Puleston Cross in Newport (Telford and Wrekin). The family held this land until the early 15th century when it was surrendered following their support of the Glydwr rebellion. At no point after 1295 is any reference made to the site being fortified, and it may be that this licensed fortification was never undertaken. The site of 'Warandashale' had previously been suggested as Wardale to the south-west of Market Drayton or the area known as Castle Hill which is located 1300 metres to the east of this site.The site was later known as Warrenhall, and a number of post-medieval documents record the name as Warrenhall and Rhiews, the latter of which still survives at the neighbouring farm to the west. This timber-framed farmhouse dates to the 17th century and may mark the abandonment of the earlier settlment at the nearby moat. There are no known remains of any structure or fortified building at the moated site. This moated site is one of a dense concentration extending westwards in Adderley, Moreton Say and Ightfield. <10>

This is a well-preserved homestead moat. The eastern half is water filled and has an outer retaining bank. The remainder of the ditch is marshy. Published survey (25" 19) has been revised. <10b>
The moat has been filled in and the ground levelled and put under pasture. No trace now remains of this feature. Published 1:2500 survey revised. <10c>

Sources

[00]SSA20722 - Card index: Shropshire County Council SMR. Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards. SMR record cards. SMR Card for PRN SA 01033.
[01]SSA3763 - Card index: Ordnance Survey. 1975. Ordnance Survey Record Card SJ63NW3. Ordnance Survey record cards. SJ63NW3.
[02]SSA3765 - Site visit report: Burrow Ian. 1977-May-20. Visit Notes, 20/05/1977.
[03]SSA178 - Volume: Victoria County History. 1908. Victoria County History 1. Victoria County History of Shropshire. Vol 1. p404.
[04]SSA3764 - Field recording form: Watson Michael D. 1981-Mar-03. Site Visit Form, 03/03/1981. SMR site visit form.
[05]SSA16963 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1983. CPAT 83/14/0008.
[06]SSA20084 - TEXT: Horton Wendy B. 1990/ 1991. MPP Evaluation File.
[07]SSA24179 - Vertical aerial photograph: Getmapping plc. 2012 -2017. Get Mapping Digital Aerial Photographic 25cm Resolution Data Set for Shropshire (Current). Colour. ECW. 1:2500.
[08]SSA28629 - Article in serial: Fradley Michael. 2006. Monastic enterprise in town and countryside: two case studies from north-east Shropshire. Landscape History. 28. pp.5-20. p.15.
[09]SSA28704 - Correspondence: Fradley Michael. 2006-Feb. Correspondance re: Warandashales. Ward P.
[10a]SSA26784 - HER comment: Carey Giles. 2014 onwards. Comments by Giles Carey, HER compiler in HER database. 20/04/2021.
[10b]SSA31554 - Site visit report: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. Various. NRHE: Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F1 JR 16-APR-62.
[10c]SSA31554 - Site visit report: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. Various. NRHE: Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F2 ASP 29-SEP-75.
[10]SSA31555 - COLLECTION: Historic England. 2020 onwards. NRHE: National Record of the Historic Environment. HOB UID 72485.
Date Last Edited:Apr 20 2021 3:18PM