Moated Complex nr Fryers Cottage, Harlton

History of Moated complex

Scheduled Monument

The monument includes a group of three moated sites with associated fishponds and water control features occupying an area bounded to the west by a stream and to the east by a dried-out stream bed. … The moated complex may represent the site of the manor of Huntingfield (later known as Harlton), which was partly owned by Walter Gifford at Domesday. Before 1166 the manor had been acquired by William de Huntingfield and descended with the main line of his family until 1313. In 1388 the manor was in the same ownership as the manor of Ludes and by 1448 this manor, known by then as the manor of Harlton, may have been enlarged to include Rotses and Butlers manors. There was a large demesne farm held by the lady of the manor in 1524. The manor house was deserted in 1587 and a new farmhouse was built. This was bought by Thomas Fryer in 1608 and continued in his family until 1677 when it is recorded as being `conveyed to Christ’s Hospital’. The moated complex, which is believed to have been occupied from the 13th century, developed in the 16th or 17th century into a series of gardens and pools surrounding a house occupying the central moat. The complex was deserted by the 17th century when Manor Farm was built approximately 400m to the south east of the moated complex, towards the west end of Harlton village. (Historic England)