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MOOR END CASTLE

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DESCRIPTION

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Earthwork remains of a medieval moat and fishponds. There are no structural remains of the castle, although remains were dug up in 1852. A licence to crenellate was issued in 1347, and in 1363 Edward III obtained the castle. Between 1363 and 1369 much building was done. A royal chamber, a chapel, and other buildings and repair of several towers, the wall, the old chamber, and inner and outer gates, are recorded. It was in royal hands during the 15th century, but its subsequent history is uncertain. The moated site survives as an island surrounded by a water-filled ditch between 17 metres and 25 metres wide on the south west, north west and north east and by a large pond 50 metres by 90 metres on the south east. A dry ditch 8 metres wide and up to 1 metre deep to the north east of the moat appears to be a former leat which carried water round the site, possibly to a mill at its south east end.

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MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

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(SP 75444462) Castle (LB) (Site of) (Large moated site with outer ditch on N side). (1)

The history of the castle at Moor End is obscure before it came into royal hands. A licence to crenellate was issued in 1347, and in 1363 Edward III obtained it. Between 1363 and 1369 much building was done. A royal chamber, a chapel, and other buildings and repair of several towers, the wall, the old chamber, and inner and outer gates, are recorded. It was in royal hands during the 15th c, but its subsequent history is uncertain. (2)

Some years before 1852 the foundations of the castle were dug up for stone. The walls were very thick, and the rectangular building they formed had towers at each angle. "Roman" tiles were observed on the site. (3)

The remains of the moat have been slightly altered to form a duck pond. The moat island is covered with dense vegetation and no foundation remains were seen. The fishpond to the north has been recut and is now a trout pond.
Surveyed on field document. (4)

Moat (SP 754446) usually known as Moor End Castle, lies W of Yardley village, within the hamlet of Moor End, in the bottom of a valley draining S, on clay at 92 m. above OD.
The site has been much altered, particularly in recent years, and now consists of a sub-rectangular island, completely overgrown, with no visible surface features. The island is surrounded by a water-filled ditch between 17 m. and 25 m. wide on the SW, NW and NE and by a large pond 50 m. by 90 m. on the SE. The latter may be a relatively recent widening of the ditch on this side. A small rectangular pond 40 m. by 25 m., much altered in recent times, lies to the NW of the site, and on air photographs taken in 1947 two other smaller rectangular ponds are shown between it and the moat. These have now been destroyed.
A dry ditch 8 m. wide and up to 1 m. deep to the NE of the moat appears to be a former leat which carried water round the site, possibly to a mill at its SE end. The field on the SW side of the moat, in which stands the present Castle Barn, was known as Castle Yard in 1728. In its SE corner are at least two building platforms lying at the S ends of two rectangular closes (SP 74 SE 51). (5)

Listed by Cathcart King. (6)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1958

( 2) R Allen Brown, H M Colvin and A J Taylor 1963 The history of the King's Works, volume 2 : the Middle Ages

1963 Page(s)743

( 3) Journal of the British Archaeological Association

(E Pretty) 1852 Page(s)111

( 4) Field Investigators Comments

F1 JB 27-OCT-69

( 5a) Aerial photograph

A/P (RAF VAP CPE/UK/1926, 5243-4)

( 5b) Externally held archive reference

Northants Record Office map including Moor End 1728

( 5) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England 1982 An inventory of the historical monuments in the County of the Northampton. Volume IV: archaeological sites in south-west Northamptonshire

(Monument 3) 1982 Page(s)175

( 6) David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands

1983 Page(s)319

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