During the Autumn 2004 the Moated Site at Court House Farm was excavated. At the same time, desk-based research was carried out to try to establish what buildings were on site and who lived there.

The moated site at Moat House Farm, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, consists largely of a large, irregular D-shaped mound 40m in width and 50m in length, surrounded by a wide, deep moat. The proximity of the site to the church suggests that it was occupied at a very early date. The earliest documentary reference to the site is in a royal grant 1222 in which it is described as the ‘castrum de Peneburg’.

Research suggests the mound probably dates back from the late 11th/early 12th century, although it is possible that there may have been occupation on the site during the Anglo-Saxon period, before the mound was built. It was the chief seat of the de Pemebridge family from 1090 to 1265 and was later held by the Mortimer family from 1265 until about 1425. Research also indicates that it was a favoured residence of the Mortimer family and that they probably rebuilt and altered the buildings on the site. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Hereford both stayed at Pembridge in the 1280s.

The function of the moated site also changed, from being a castle in the 12th century, it had become a fortified manor house by about 1300. The site was Crown property from 1461 until about 1600. The site was abandoned by the early 17th century. The remains of a ‘small keep or fortified castle’ were still visible there in 1655. By about 1800, the site had been completely cleared and was in use as an orchard.

Excavations in the moat revealed a large quantity of stone rubble, which may have been derived from the collapse of buildings standing on top of the mound. Surprisingly, no archaeological evidence was found of a stone perimeter or curtain wall at the top of the mound, nor was there evidence of a wooden palisade or rampart, although this could have been obliterated by 19th-19th century landscaping after the abandonment of the site. However, an exciting and very substantial find was made in one of the two trenched dug on top of the mound; namely the lower courses of two masonry walls running broadly N-S, the northernmost of which predates the southern.

The function of these two walls is uncertain, but it is unlikely they formed part of a defensive curtain wall as neither wall respects the edge of the mound. A more plausible explanation is that the two walls were probably part of the foundation of a substantial stone building, which abutted at an acute angle the edge of the mound. The function of this large stone building is uncertain, it possibly may have served as a range of lodgings or as a large ancillary structure such as a stable. In the second trench of the mound, evidence of two walls running NW-SE and SW-NE were found, framing an area containing a cobbled surface.

Above: Trench two showing the two walls running approximately north/south. Finds in this trench included pottery and a Roman tegula (roof tile).

Below: Detail of trench three. Note the thick layer of black ash. Other evidence of burning was found in this trench suggesting the building was once destroyed by fire.

Above: General view of trench three showing the various evidence of walls. None of these appeared to line up with the walls in trench two.

Below: Detail in trench three showing medieval stirrup prior to excavation. Again, note the evidence of burning.

Speculative drawing showing how the buildings may have been located on the site in its heyday and the accurate location of the three trenches, excavated during the Autumn of 2004 by Border Archaeology Limited, Leominster with the assistance of the villagers of Pembridge.

This was a community project and we are grateful to all the amateur ‘diggers’ who took part with special thanks to the staff and children at Pembridge Primary School.

This project is part-financed by the European Union (EAGGF) and DEFRA through Herefordshire Rivers LEADER+ Programme.