Ampfield Winchester Road Moat (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Ampfield.
In the historic county of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Modern Authority of Hampshire.
1974 county of Hampshire.
Medieval County of Hampshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SU39642333
Latitude 51.00800° Longitude -1.43637°

Ampfield Winchester Road Moat has been described as a Fortified Manor House although is doubtful that it was such.

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains.

Description

A roughly square piece of land, slightly higher than the surrounding ground, the circumference of which is bounded by the vestiges of a sunken way, most apparent on the northern arc. The south side has been erased by the main road; the west by a garden and outbuildings, though a slight dip is visible; the east by a farm track. The northern arm is partly water filled, the outer slope is relatively gentle and grass-covered, whereas the inner is steep and surmounted by a quickset hedge. The centre is occupied by a modern house and market garden (F1 JM 25-AUG-53).
The area is sited on a hilltop: the topographical nature of the land is such, that an outer bank of most massive proportions would have been necessary on the W & NW to retain the waters of a moat. No traces of such a bank exist. The extent A-B closely resembles the hollow way and it continues along the eastern side in the form of a sunken lane. The 'slight dip' on the west is caused by the juxtaposition of a modern drive to the adjoining house, constructed causeway fashion because of the immediate and rapid falling away of the land generally. Because of its topographical relationship to the adjacent hollow way the two can have no connection, nor is one likely to be the variant of the other. No literary evidence was encountered, but accepting this to be the role of a mediaeval house, it could not have been moated but merely fortified by a ditch (F2 VEL 08-JAN-54). (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 227057.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 25012.

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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