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Moated site at Balsdon Farm is a medieval defensive earthwork located in Berkshire. The site comprises a substantial moat, a water-filled ditch that formerly enclosed a residential or manorial complex, typical of the 12th to 16th centuries when such fortifications were common among the minor gentry and substantial landholders of southern England. The moat survives as an archaeological feature of considerable local significance, preserving evidence of medieval settlement patterns and land use in the region. Such moated sites, whilst modest compared to castles, represent important markers of medieval social hierarchy and the territorial organisation of the English countryside.
Moated site at Balsdon Farm is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1013243. View the official record →
Moated site at Balsdon Farm is a medieval defensive earthwork located in Berkshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1013243.
Moated site at Balsdon Farm is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1013243.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Wansdyke, section 530yds (490m) on W side of Old Dyke Lane (2 km), Long barrow at Combe Gibbet, Gallows Down. (3.2 km), Bowl barrow south of Rivar Copse: part of a barrow cemetery on Inkpen Hill (3.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Moated site at Balsdon Farm's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Moated site at Balsdon Farm stands on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.