Scheduled Ancient Monument: MOATED SITE AT GATE FARM (30597)

The monument includes a moated site located about 220m to the west of the site of Cranley Green. The moat, which ranges in width from approximately 4m on the east side to 10m on the west and is water-filled, surrounds a rectangular island with internal dimensions of about 92m north south by 44m. A shallow depression approximately in the centre of the island marks the site of an internal pond connected to the eastern arm of the moat by a short sluice channel. The pond was probably used originally for the conservation of a stock of fish for domestic consumption. To the north of it is a platform, slightly raised above the level of the ground to the south, on which stands a house which is a Listed Building Grade II, dated to the early 19th century. Access to the island is provided by a causeway across the northern arm of the moat, and there is a second causeway across the eastern arm, towards its northern end, which is a modern feature, not shown on an estate map of 1840. The north east corner of the moat has been enlarged externally to create a pond, but the original line of the moat, which is deeper, is known to survive within it. The pond is also not shown on the map of 1840 and was presumably made at a later date. The house, a greenhouse and cold frame, raised beds, paving to the rear of the house, the surface of the drive way, garden trellises, a service pole and a sewage processing plant are all excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included.