NHER 3317 (Monument record) - The Rey, medieval moated site

The Rey.

Moated manor site around 1400. Site of Manor House built by John Wodehouse around 1400 (certainly pre 1430 when he died) and according to William of Worcester demolished 1454 by Lord Scales because of land disputes, the materials being used to build Middleton Towers.

1838. Found here (Bryant) silver coin of Edward III with a brass coin of Queen Isabella and another of Edward III with Isabella's arms
Rectangular moat marked on map (S1), Ordnance Survey cards (S2) mention brick rubble spead. Unit aerial photographs from 1974 show only two sides remaining, third visible as cropmark.

29 September 1979. Site visited.
Totally destroyed, no traces in carrot field. It is remarkable that the moat should have survived for this long if it is true that the hall only stood for fifty years.
E. Rose (NAU).

'MED pot' written here on KLM 6" map.
E. Rose (NAU).

Dr C. L. H. Coulson, in letter 14 February 1989 states that a licence to crenellate and empark was given to Thomas Daniel, King's squire, in 1447 apparently for this site. This suggests the house was rebuilt after Lord Scales' demolition, thus explaining the survival of the moat.
E. Rose (NAU), 17 February 1989.

Copy of licence to crenellate in secondary file.

25 July 1996. NLA aerial photography.
Broad moat still visible, three sides showing as ditches. The fourth, western side is producing a slightly negative cropmark, suggesting it has been infilled with stone, compacted material, possibly building rubble. The main moat is also surrounded by several rectilinear enclosures and associated linears. These may have been related to the layout of buildings and gardens associated with the manor.
S. Massey (NLA), 22 November 2001.

September 2011.
Area of site extended to include all cropmarks visible on (S3) and two linear features shown at TF6943823206 on (S4). The two linear features could be the remnants of fishponds.
J. Albone and D. Robertson (HES), 2 September 2011.