Page 14 - Moons Moat

Redditch Heritage Moons Moat

Chapter 3 - The Siting of Moons Moat

The other type of land in Warwickshire and Worcestershire was woodland. Though there
were two areas called Forests - of Arden and Feckenham Forest - they were not
impenetrable woodland. They were used for hunting and the best such land was a mixture
of small woods and large pastures. Historians now call it wood-pasture. It was settled
and farmed like everywhere else but there were significant differences. Arable land had
nuclear villages with houses closely built near the manor and the church. Wood-pasture
had no villages: settlement was scattered over a wide area of trees and grassland. Manorial
control over villages was clearly easier than over scattered communities. One result was
that the wood pasture farmer was more independent and could use his initiative. There
was no defined frontier between arable and wood pasture, but our area of the Midlands
shared both types. The Vale of Evesham had clearly defined villages working age old fields.
Villages such as Tardebigge, Beoley, Ipsley and Hanbury were woodland settlements without
village centres even to this day. Farmers have lived in isolated farms or in hamlets within
the manor. There was plenty of spare land. After the Black Death no Lord of the Manor
was likely to deter the Moons Moat farmer. He might pay a little rent, be promised
employment and maybe some prosperity. It is not entirely clear whether Moons Moat
was in the manor of Beoley or the lands of Bordesley Abbey. In a sense it did not matter
too much for both manors in the 14th century had absentee lords of the manor. It is tempting
to see the Moons Moat farmer finding some undeveloped land and acting as a squatter settling
without permission, it is more likely that he obtained permission from the lord's reeve
or steward who saw the payment of some rent, however small, as a benefit to the manor
when so many holdings were vacant.

Much thought would have had to be given to the site for the farmhouse. Presumably the
island was chosen first: it had to be big enough for a substantial farmhouse and outbuildings.
Some garden for vegetables and for leisure and recreation would have been required. The
digging-out of the moat would have been a major exercise, its size and depth might well
have been determined by what the farmer wanted from his moat. A source of water to fill
and to top up the moat was needed - and easily found in one of the streams which ran down
the hilly eastern bank of the Arrow Valley.

He would not have spent long considering building materials. North Worcestershire did not
provide good building stone. Brick was a rich man's fashion. Surrounded by trees, the
choice was obvious. The brief archaeological dig of 1969 found a number of large cut
sandstone blocks on which a half-timbered house would have been built. Such stones could
have come from nearby Alvechurch. Timber framing would have been a skill practised by
many. Clay and straw, with dung, it is gleefully suggested, was mixed to fill the spaces
between the timbers. There was plentiful thatch for the roof. No chimney would have
been built: the windows might have been glazed with horn. The daub might have been
painted. It is much less likely that the timbers would have been painted. The black and
white patterns we associate with timber framed buildings would not have appeared since
they are largely a Victorian passion. Moons Moat Farm would have fitted in with its
background with its uniformly brown colour.

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