Malting Spinney Medieval moat, associated outer enclosure and cultivation earthworks, Ridgmont

Scheduled area

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History & significance

Malting Spinney Medieval moat is a scheduled ancient monument located at Ridgmont in Bedfordshire, comprising a substantial moated enclosure of medieval date alongside an associated outer defensive work and adjacent cultivation earthworks. The moat itself forms a complete circuit around a central platform, indicative of a manor house or fortified residence typical of the medieval period, whilst the outer enclosure suggests a more extensive defended settlement pattern characteristic of the twelfth to sixteenth centuries. The survival of cultivation ridges in the surrounding landscape indicates the agricultural context of the settlement and provides evidence for medieval land use practices. The monument represents a significant example of medieval settlement archaeology in the region, combining defensive and domestic structures with evidence of the agrarian economy that sustained such communities.

Malting Spinney Medieval moat, associated outer enclosure and cultivation earthworks, Ridgmont is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1012698. View the official record →

Questions & answers

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