Moat House

Moat House is a manor house dating from around 1500, originally an open hall with a crosswing at the west end. In the 17th century, a floor and stack were inserted, and during the 19th century, a bay was replaced at the east end. The house is timber-framed, now roughcast rendered and tiled. The west crosswing has a half-hip at the south end. A ridge stack was inserted in 1664; the shafts have been rebuilt around 1984, with the original dated bricks removed. The plan shows an open hall with a crosswing. Internal evidence suggests the hall originally extended one bay further east, likely for a service area.

The main hall is two storeys high and has two 19th-century casement windows on the first floor and one on the ground floor. A modern door and doorway likely occupy the site of the original cross-passage entry. The crosswing is also two storeys high and contains a three-light window on each floor.

Inside, the open hall has two bays and a quartered ceiling with stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. Wide arch braces support the tie beam of the display truss over the open hall. Jowled posts are also present. The roof is of clasped side purlin construction with paired wind bracing; the purlin is jointed at the collars, and one such joint at the east end indicates a former bay. The absence of smoke-blackening in the roof suggests the open hall originally had a chimney, likely replaced and a floor inserted in 1664. The crosswing, likely a parlour wing, has an ogee chamfered main beam and heavy, hollow moulded joists, some of which are modern. The roof here is also of the wind braced side purlin type. The house sits on a moated site.