Scheduled Ancient Monument: MOATED SITE IMMEDIATELY SOUTH EAST OF ST MARY'S CHURCH (30600)

The monument includes a moated site next to the south east boundary of St Mary's churchyard. A second moated site about 25m to the north east was excavated and levelled in 1967 and is not included. The moat, which is wet and open to a depth of about 1m, ranges from approximately 8m to 10m in width and surrounds a central island with internal dimensions of about 54m NNW-SSE by 27m. From the south east corner an outlet approximately 6m wide and 20m in length extends eastwards to connect with a field drain. The northern arm of the moat is bordered by an external bank about 1.3m high and 8m wide at the eastern end, spreading to 14m in width at the lower, western end. The northern end of the western arm has been enlarged externally to a width of up to 14m to create what was probably a horse pond, and a causeway to the south of this, giving access to the central island, is also a post-medieval feature. An external pond approximately 49m in length and up to 18m wide adjoins the eastern arm of the moat. It is connected to the eastern arm by a channel about 5m long and 6m wide, and a partly silted outlet channel issues from the southern end into the outlet from the south east corner of the moat. The pond was probably constructed originally for the conservation of a stock of fish for domestic consumption. The excavation of the moated site to the north east revealed evidence for a timber aisled hall occupied from the late 12th to the early 14th century and probably contemporary in its origins with the moat which surrounded it. This was identified as the probable site of Davillers manor, an interpretation supported by the evidence of a map made in 1726 which records the name of a field to the east of the two moats as Davellers. The manor was held by Hugh de Avilers in the time of William the Conqueror and remained in the family until the death of Bartholomew Davillers, the last in the male line, in 1331, after which it passed to his daughters and their heirs. The date fits that of the evidence for the abandonment of the north western moated site. It is probable that the surviving moated site was part of the same manor and may have been occupied by bailiffs of the lord of the manor up to the mid-16th century, when the manor passed to Sir Thomas Cornwallis. No house remained on it in 1664, however, when the field which contained both moated sites was described as a `meadow' and `grove'. Modern fence posts and a beam which serves as a bridge across the northern arm of the moat are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.