Remains of Moat Hall

The remains of Moat Hall are the ruins of a medieval house dating from around 1430, built for John Vyncent of Braithwell. Constructed from magnesian limestone, it is likely a first-floor hall house featuring a cross-wing and a service wing. An intact archway leads into the central cross-wing, with the outline of the hall on the left defined by rubble walls that rise no more than 1 metre in height. The service rooms on the opposite side of the passage are less clearly defined and have not been fully excavated, although a well and an oven site are exposed. The arch is pointed and consists of two hollow-chamfered orders, with a rebate at the rear that includes draw-bar sockets. The site is situated on a moated area that was originally a grange of Lewes Priory in Sussex, which was leased to John Vyncent in 1427, allowing him to build a hall measuring 32 feet long by 18 feet broad. In 1939, a series of three round-headed arches from the service wing were removed, with one surviving at Lambcote Grange in Stainton parish. 20th-century excavations recorded a site approximately 70 feet by 20 feet and suggested earlier dates for the building.