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List entry Summary

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Name: Holford Hall moated site

List entry Number: 1012413

Location

The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County	District	District Type	Parish
	Cheshire East	Unitary Authority	Plumley

National Park: Not applicable to this List entry.

Grade: Not applicable to this List entry.

Date first scheduled: 16-Dec-1992

Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System: RSM

UID: 13498

Asset Groupings

This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.

List entry Description

Summary of Monument

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Reasons for Designation

Around 6,000 moated sites are known in England. They consist of wide ditches, often or seasonally water-filled, partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground on which stood domestic or religious buildings. In some cases the islands were used for horticulture. The majority of moated sites served as prestigious aristocratic and seigneurial residences with the provision of a moat intended as a status symbol rather than a practical military defence. The peak period during which moated sites were built was between about 1250 and 1350 and by far the greatest concentration lies in central and eastern parts of England. However, moated sites were built throughout the medieval period, are widely scattered throughout England and exhibit a high level of diversity in their forms and sizes. They form a significant class of medieval monument and are important for the understanding of the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside. Many examples provide conditions favourable to the survival of organic remains.

Holford Hall moated site survives well and despite infilling of the moat's southwestern arm remains otherwise unencumbered by modern development. Limited excavation on the island has revealed foundations of the hall's medieval north wing and further evidence of both the house and chapel demolished during the early 20th century will survive. Additionally the waterlogged moat will preserve organic material.

History

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Details

The monument is the moated site of Holford Hall. It includes an island measuring c.100m x 80m. Holford Hall, a garage and access drive occupy the northern quadrant of the island. Surrounding the island on all sides except the southwest is a waterlogged moat c.20m wide x 1.5m deep to the water level. Access to the island is by a 17th-century sandstone bridge across the north-eastern arm and by a causeway across the south-eastern arm. The present house is a fragment of a much larger timber house consisting of three sides of a quadrangle that was rebuilt in the early 17th century for Mary Cholmondeley, heiress of Christopher Holford of Holford. The south wing collapsed and was demolished in 1844. The north wing was demolished during the 1880s. Photographs of the north wing show it to have been earlier than what survives and limited archaeological excavation in 1990 revealed foundation stones set in clay. The moat's south-western arm was infilled this century but its location is marked by a change in the vegetation cover. A chapel survived on the island until the 1920s/30s. Holford Hall is a Listed Building Grade II*. The bridge is a Listed Building Grade II. Holford Hall and all service pipes, field boundaries and telegraph poles, the driveway, garage, bridge and a 2m wide strip of farmtrack at the moat's north- eastern corner are all excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath all these features is included. The area of the existing Victorian brick addition to the hall, both above and below ground, and the area between it and the adjacent garage are totally excluded from the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Selected Sources

1. Book  Reference - Title: Mrs Phillips (Site Owner) - Date: 1991 - Type: PERS COMM - Description: To Robinson, K D MPPFW
2. Book  Reference - Author: Cheshire SMR - Title: Holford Hall - Date: 1990 - Type: SMR - Description: 1235/1/1
3. Book  Reference - Author: Darvill, T. - Title: MPP Single Monument Class Description - Moats - Date: 1988 - Page References: 5 - Type: DESC TEXT
4. Book  Reference - Author: de Figueiredo, P & Treuhertz, J - Title: Cheshire Country Homes - Date: 1988 - Page References: 242-3 - Type: DESC TEXT
5. Book  Reference - Author: DOE - Title: List of Bldgs of Special Arch & Hist Interest - Macclesfield - Date: 1984 - Page References: 28 6/58 - Type: LIST - Description: Ref No 3/40 (Pagination 21)
6. Book  Reference - Author: DOE - Title: List of Bldgs of Special Arch & Hist Interest - Macclesfield - Date: 1984 - Page References: 28 6/57 - Type: LIST - Description: Ref No 3/40 (Pagination 21)
7. Book  Reference - Author: Gifford & Partners - Title: Assess of Arch Deposits in Trial Area at Holford Hall, Plumley - Date: 1990 - Page References: 1-9 - Type: EXCAVATION REPORT
8. Article  Reference - Author: Anon - Title: Trans Lancs & Ches Arch Soc - Date: 1927 - Journal Title: Trans Lancs & Ches Arch Soc - Volume: 44 - Page References: 112-3 - Type: DESC TEXT

National Grid Reference: SJ 70903 75396

Map

This copy shows the entry on 25-May-2013 at 01:49:00.