Monument record MDO4676 - Moat at Bere Marsh Farm, Shillingstone

Moat, possibly the site of the Manor House of the lost Manor of Bere. A moated site with an infilled pond to the west, fed by a series of water channels to the west and south, are visible as earthworks on 1940's aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar imagery. The features were digitally plotted during the Mid Dorset Downs AIM project.

'(23) Moat, Class A1(a)1, (821122) lies on a river terrace on the W. side of the R. Stour, immediately W. of Bere Marsh Farm. The history of the site is unknown. A few documents refer to the Manor of Bere (Hutchins III, 446-7; Fägersten, 105), none of them earlier than 1384, and the moat is probably the site of the Manor House. The island is almost square, with sides about 55 yds. long, and is completely surrounded by ditches 40 ft. wide and 2 ft. to 3 ft. deep, in part water-filled. Outer banks occur on the N., W. and S. sides, 18 ft. to 23 ft. wide and 1½ ft. high. The bank on the N. is immediately adjacent to the ditch, but to W. and S. spaces 12 ft. to 18 ft. wide intervene between ditch and bank. The interior of the island is flat and no trace of building is seen.

A rectangular area, 30 ft. W. of the moat, is orientated N.-S. and measures 45 ft. by 30 ft.; on the S.W. and E. it is enclosed by banks 10 ft. wide and 2 ft. high but it is open to the N. (R.A.F. CPE/UK 1974: 4172-3).'

Moat, possibly the site of the Manor House of the lost Manor of Bere.

A moated site with an infilled pond to the west, fed by a series of water channels to the west and south, are visible as earthworks on 1940s aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar imagery (RAF 1947; RAF 1947; EA 2018). The features were digitally plotted during the Mid Dorset Downs AIM project.

Historic England, National Record of the Historic Environment, 206217 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch 2, Dorset XIII.12 Revised: 1901, Published: 1902 (Map). SDO11594.

'Moat'

Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey map 6 inches to 1 mile, 1962 (Map). SDO17338.

ST 82101225 Moat (NR)

Royal Air Force, 07-JAN-1954, F22/58/1332 006-7 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18708.

Royal Air Force, 16-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1924 RS 4325 (Aerial Photograph). SDO21493.

Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 241 (Monograph). SDO136.

'(23) Moat, Class A1(a)1, (821122) lies on a river terrace on the W. side of the R. Stour, immediately W. of Bere Marsh Farm. The history of the site is unknown. A few documents refer to the Manor of Bere (Hutchins III, 446-7; Fägersten, 105), none of them earlier than 1384, and the moat is probably the site of the Manor House. The island is almost square, with sides about 55 yds. long, and is completely surrounded by ditches 40 ft. wide and 2 ft. to 3 ft. deep, in part water-filled. Outer banks occur on the N., W. and S. sides, 18 ft. to 23 ft. wide and 1½ ft. high. The bank on the N. is immediately adjacent to the ditch, but to W. and S. spaces 12 ft. to 18 ft. wide intervene between ditch and bank. The interior of the island is flat and no trace of building is seen.

A rectangular area, 30 ft. W. of the moat, is orientated N.-S. and measures 45 ft. by 30 ft.; on the S.W. and E. it is enclosed by banks 10 ft. wide and 2 ft. high but it is open to the N. (R.A.F. CPE/UK 1974: 4172-3).'

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Cornwall Council, 2026, 2026 AIM Mid Dorset Downs HE9550 (Machine readable data file). SDO21762.

Royal Air Force, 23-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1944 RP 3332 (Aerial Photograph). SDO21500.

Ordnance Survey, 6.6.75, OS 75/371/027-28 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18707.

Chaplin, C P, Various, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments CC, F1 CC 30-MAR-78 (Unpublished document). SWX3450.

Environment Agency, xx-xxx-2018, Environment Agency National Lidar Programme DTM 1M (Aerial Photograph). SDO21483.

Record last edited

Jun 1 2026 11:07AM