Monument record 0039401000 - SEYTONS MANOR, GROVE FARM

Dimensions - Length 0095 m Width 0040 Depth/Thickness 0003
Plan Form - PEAR SHAPED
MOAT DESTROYED AT S END (B5). NEAR DRY. DITCH 12-16M WIDE & UP TO 3M DEEP. LOW OUTER BANK ALONG E SIDE. N END POSSIBLY ORIGINAL NARROW CAUSEWAYED ENTRANCE. SW SIDE FILLED IN & ROADWAY CROSSES GIVING ACCESS TO MODERN HOUSE WITHIN MOAT (B6). 1:5280 SURVEY, BASED ON VERTICAL AP (B8). SCHEDULED: SAM 32115 (B11).
Evaluation trial trenching carried out in June 2004 by Oxford Archaeology in advance of proposed house extension identified a single ditch with rounded terminal, steeply sloping sides and concave base, 0.65m wide, 0.36m deep and visible for 1m. 2 fragments of late medieval or post-medieval roof tile were recovered from the ditch fill. The ditch is interpreted as a small boundary or enclosure ditch within the moated site (B12).
Negative watching brief (B13).

A moat and small fishpond of medieval date are visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as extant earthworks and were mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located at Grove Farm, Ellesborough, and centred at SP 83567 08085. The moat is almost oval in shape, measuring 73x99m at its largest and approximately 12-16m across. A smaller, shallower area, measuring 14x19m, is inside the oval moat and a smaller subrectangular/trapezoidal pond, measuring 30x28m at its largest, is visible at the northern end of the moat; the two smaller ponds may be fishponds. The area of the moat is visible as a wooded area next to the farm on 1940s aerial photographs. Lidar visualisations clearly show the ditches as earthworks. This moat is Scheduled and in an area where moats are fairly numerous. (14-15)