Scheduled MonumentsEnglandMobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell

Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell

England
List entry 1012306
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1012306
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.76 hectares
Grid reference
TL 26356 43776
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond is a medieval settlement complex located near Ashwell in Hertfordshire. The site comprises a moated enclosure, characteristic of medieval manorial and domestic occupation, together with an associated decoy pond, features which indicate sustained settlement and land management from the medieval period. The moated element represents a common form of high-status residence or farmstead defence typical of the twelfth to sixteenth centuries, whilst the decoy pond reflects later medieval or early modern practices of water management and wildfowl hunting. The site remains a significant archaeological record of rural settlement hierarchy and economic activity in medieval Hertfordshire.

Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1012306. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell?

Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond is a medieval settlement complex located near Ashwell in Hertfordshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1012306.

Who is responsible for protecting Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell?

Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell 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 1012306.

What other scheduled monuments are near Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Highley Hill bowl barrow (6.3 km), Bowl barrow 550m north east of Slip End Farm (6.6 km), Ring ditch and enclosure (6.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell

Mobbs Hole moated site and decoy pond, Ashwell stands on Gault Formation And Upper Greensand Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.