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Moated sites For most people moats bring to mind impressive expanses of water with the towering walls of a substantial castle on the far side. Here's one of the smaller examples, at the sixteenth century brick-built castle at Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire.   Kirby Muxloe castle. But people in the twelfth to the sixteenth century would have been more familiar with an abundance of 'domestic' moats. These served a number of purposes. Clearly they helped protect against 'vagabonds' – although not against serious military attack. As with the moats at castles they would have been well-stocked with fish and water fowl. Indeed it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the remains of a moat from a large fish pond. But above all they were status symbols. Someone who made it big in the medieval era needed a moat around his house in the same way their modern counterparts need a gravel driveway with a fleet of 'Chelsea tractors'.   The moat and house at Bardon Hill. At the risk of too many examples from Leicestershire, here is the much-restored moat and house to the south of Bardon Hill in Charnwood Forest. The medieval house would have been posh for its time. But as well as adding status and providing fish the moat is defending the occupants from ne'er-do-wells. And the tenant would have needed all the protection he could get because the original house was built for the steward or bailiff responsible for stopping the landowner's deer and such like being poached. Just imagine – you're living in an isolated location and, apart from your employees, everyone living within miles hates you. The moat hopefully made it easier to sleep at night... Barrowby's medieval moats So we should not be surprised that there were once at least four and maybe five medieval moats in and around Barrowby. On the 1888 Ordnance Survey map two sides of a moat are shown clearly to the west of Barrowby Old Hall. Whether the moat originally continued to form a rectangle is unknown – later in the medieval period when moats were mostly for status and for use as rather ornamental fish ponds then 'L'-shaped moats were constructed.   The moat at Barrowby Old Hall in 1888. According to current OS maps only a short section of the most north-easterly part has survived. From the nearby footpath running along the crest of the ridge the 'cross-section' of a significant earthwork can be glimpsed. Note that the moat is on private property. Another moat survives at Stenwith, immediately to the north of the remains of a brick-built windmill (and the putative site of an eleventh century water mill). It is to the immediate west of the River Devon.         The moat at Stenwith.   Top: Bing maps (image retreived August 2021). Above left: Google maps (image retreived August 2021). Above right: Redrawn from the 1971 OS map. Note the circular structure to the south which is the base of the windmill. Aerial photographs showing crop marks and earthworks of a moat, crofts, building, platform, fishpond, ridge and furrow and stack stand around Casthorpe House, the site of West Casthorpe. Source. L.R. Cryer, in his 1979 booklet, refers to another moat near Casthorpe and Newbo, but says that this had been lost to modern road building. (Cryer 1979 p6). Sadly the remains of this moat are not shown on old OS maps so the exact location is not known. There is also a well-preserved moat at Sedgebrook, very close to the railway line and to the east of the River Devon. This is also on private land.   The moat at Sedgebrook in 1888. If you think I've got something wrong – or can add additional information or photographs – then please email me:– bobtrubs@indigogroup.co.uk. Back to top of this page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2021–2022 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/barrowby

what's new? Articles about Barrowby Barrowby's location and geology summary of prehistoric Barrowby summary of Roman Barrowby Anglo-Saxons summary of Anglo-Saxon Barrowby place-names Winnibriggs and Threo Domesday Book eleventh century water mills Kesteven moot site Medieval summary of medieval Barrowby origins of All Saints church moated sites the decline of Casthorpe Newbo Abbey Barrowby's Rectory the Conduit to Grantham Sewstern Lane or The Drift Seventeenth and eighteenth centuries summary of early modern Barrowby Dr Thomas Hurst Sir John Thorold John Manners, the Marquess of Granby Charnwood slates the toll bar Enclosure of Barrowby 1762 village green a.k.a. Stevens Gutter Grantham Canal Nineteenth century summary of nineteenth century Barrowby restoration of the parish church schools Methodist chapels Reading Room windmills pinfold Richard Hornsby nineteenth and twentieth century population Twentieth century summary of twentieth century Barrowby ironstone quarrying two World Wars Memorial Hall Barrowby's Listed buildings Barrowby's modern housing guided walks in and around Barrowby there's more could be said... bibliography index of surnames in Cryer 1979 Articles and web links for nearby places rare seventeenth fonts at Muston, Bottesford and Orston from Project Gargoyle Newsletter 2020 Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire YouTube video Wyville's wells Harston's Anglo-Saxon carvings Bottesford's effigies Grantham Canal Society The Grantham Canal All you need to know – and more – from Wikipedia Croxton Kerrial manor house excavations photos and brief details from Leicester Mercury. By 2021 the remains had been consolidated and there are annual open days. Grantham Archaeology Group Bottesford History Group Grantham Civic Society Grantham Museum Heritage Lincolnshire