Monument record MDO27673 - Moat, Thornton Farm, Marnhull

The remains of a moat associated with earthworks of medieval settlement, together identified as the settlement of Thorton, once a separate parish. Pottery of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries has been found here.

The farmhouse is enclosed on three sides by a rectangular Moat (Class AI (a)). <1>

ST 80451800 The remains of the homestead moat lie on a slight rise amidst undulating country. The west arm, 11.0m wide and 1.2m deep is water-filled to a depth of 0.4m. The south arm, 9.0m wide and 0.6m deep, is dry and has slight banks, approximately 5.0m wide and 0.2m high, both internally and externally. A southward extension at the west end has been filled in and the east end cut by modern barns. The north arm has been partly filled. Remains of possibly the east arm or a re-entrant, 11.0m wide and 1.5m deep below the interior, exist on the north east. The interior forms a level platform, approximately 0.3m above the surrounding ground. The moat was probably fed by natural drainage. Moat surveyed at 1:2500 on AO Model. <2>

Name board reads 'THORNTON FARM'. <3>

<1> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 159-60 (Monograph). SDO136.

'(61) Thornton Farm … The farmhouse is enclosed on three sides by a rectangular Moat (Class A 1(a))1, orientated N.-S. and defining an island some 80 yds. by 70 yds. in extent and 4 or 5 ft. higher than the surrounding land. The N., W. and S. ditches are 18 ft. to 25 ft. wide and 3 ft. to 4 ft. deep. An external bank 20 ft. wide and 1½ ft. to 2 ft. high lies along the S. ditch. The E. ditch is gone but its alignment is shown by a partly walled scarp, 5 ft. to 6 ft. high, on the W. side of the farmyard. The E. half of the island is occupied by the house and garden; the W. half contains an orchard and in the N.E. corner of this part is a dry rectangular pond. Along the S. side of the island and for about 20 ft. on the W. side is an internal bank 1 ft. high and 9 ft. to 12 ft. wide. Several scarps 1½ ft. to 2 ft. high occur on the island. Some sherds of 13th and 14th-century pottery, and larger quantities of 17th-century and later pottery have been found in the garden.' and Footnote 'See Cambridgeshire I, lxi-lxiv.'

<2> Chaplin, C P, Various, Field Investigators Comments CC, F1 CC 31-JAN-78 (Unpublished document). SWX3450.

<3> Stone, J W, Field Investigators Comments JWS, F2 JWS 16-MAR-78 (Unpublished document). SDO11902.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 206008 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 11 2022 2:30PM