NHER 1579 (Monument record) - Medieval moat

February 1976.
Moat, subrectangular. Lies on feeder stream in public meadow. Well preserved though now only a trickle of water in it. Sides of ditches terraced. House platform clear. One corner damaged, probably by children. Ponds in wood to north flow into it, but scrub makes it impossible to see if this was an extension.
E. Rose (NAU), 26 February 1976.

1989.
Semi-circular outer earthwork attached to southeast side of moat reported, perhaps of later date.
Noted in January 1989.
E. Rose (NAU), 20 January 1989.

Earthwork survey for file.
See (S1).
R. J. Rickett (NAU), 16 March 1990.

Site lies west of B1440 about 200m southwest of Dersingham Church.
There is a possible causewayed entrance to north, south of small wood. Platform still well defined with sharp corners. Sheep dip was apparently situated along north arm. Earthworks including ridge and furrow noted south of moat. Whole grazed by sheep, with enclosures surrounded by stout post and wire fencing. Some erosion under isolated bushes, minimal erosion by sheep tracks.
H. Paterson (A&E), April 1991.

1995. Earthwork Survey.
Survey at 1:1000. Site extended to south and west of moat to include complex banks and ditch forming boundary between moat and valley floor. Features which include extensive but confusing water management complex, partly levelled for extension to playing field, rather than ridge and furrow as previously thought.
See (S2).
B. Cushion (NLA), February 1995.

July 2001. Norfolk NMP.
'A probable medieval moat and probable post medieval water meadows, visible as earthworks on 1967 Ordnance Survey vertical aerial photographs.' See (S3). A large approximately square moat and a system of channels that are almost certainly related to water management and water meadows. The moat is presumably medieval, and earlier than the channels to the south of it. It is one of at least two moats within the area (along with NHER 1576 and possibly NHER 1577). The moat ditch is sub rectangular in plan, with a maximum width of 11m, and encloses an area with a minimum east to west length of 66m and a width of 50m. There is a causeway in the centre of the northern side, although it is not known whether this is an original feature. No trace of a structure is visible within the moated area. The moat now only retains water in elements of the ditch, which appear to be currently fed by channels from the north and east, although a channel (now dry) appears to feed into the western side of the moat also. An east to west aligned channel within site NHER 31059 to the east may also be part of a feeder channel for the moat. To the south of the moat are a series of irregular east to west and north to south aligned channels that are almost certainly a system of post medieval water meadows. The water meadows incorporate (and may be fed by) a dog legged channel that runs south from the southern side of the moat.
M. Brennand (NMP), 31 July 2001.

April 2003. Site scheduled.
Information from English Heritage Scheduling Notification (S3).
M. Horlock (NLA), 13 August 2003.

August 2018. Watching Brief.
Maintained during excavation of drainage trench to east of moated site, at the point where it entered the Scheduled area (the excavation of the remainder of the trench was not subject to archaeological monitoring).
No archaeologically-significant features or deposits were observed.
A single sherd of 11th-century pottery was recovered from a subsoil layer.
See report (S5) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2018.174).
P. Watkins (HES), 18 May 2022.