Monument record WSS 001 - Bleach Farm

Moat, large, trapezoid, occupied, isolated, close to parish boundary, marked on OS 1;10000 undated (S1). Scheduled. Internal buildings Listed.
1952: This moat is in a moderately clean condition, with the water on the level with ground level. Shape as shown on 6 inch map.
12 August 1970: A narrow waterfilled moat with near vertical sides. Only the W arm has not been recently cleaned. A new causeway crosses the S arm. The Listed house on the island has been much modernised externally, but has a panelled room which is dated 1644 (S2).
Marked on OS 1:10560, 1975.
Early Med sherds from moat of farmstead site. Given by J D Ingate, Chapel Farm, Chediston (S3).
July 2000: Scheduled - details in (S5).
2001: Lowering of floor levels in the northern wing of Bleach Farm revealed finds and features indicative of activity on the site from the 13th-14th century through to present. Most of the finds were located in a mixed context, probably a former floor surface subject to trample by stock. The remains of two wooden posts were revealed, athough these were not obviously associated with any structural elements and their date is unknown. The finds assemblage is dominated by 15th-16th century material but the presence of pottery from as early as the 13th century in such an isolated location would seem to confirm such early occupation of the site and ties in with the apogee of moat construction.
Removal of the moat causeway confirmed it to have been a modern addition rather than an original feature of the earthwork (S6).
For a copy of 'A plan of an estate in Wissett belonging to the parish of Alborough' (from Suffolk Record Office?) by T Hatton, 1769 see R:\Environmental Protection\Conservation\Archaeology\Library\HistoricMaps . This shows the moat, house and barn clearly.
2005: Archaeological monitoring was carried and revealed no archaeological finds or features (S7).