Scheduled Ancient Monument: MOATED SITE AT NAUGHTON HALL (33298)

The monument includes a medieval moated site at Naughton Hall, immediately to the north west of Naughton Green and 100m to the north of the parish church of St Mary. The moated site includes a roughly L-shaped island, measuring up to 116m north east to south west by 66m north west to south east. The island is defined by a water-filled moat, measuring up to 8m in width and 2m deep, on all but the central section of the south east side. On this side the moat is infilled and partly overlain by the present Naughton Hall a Listed Building Grade II, which dates from the 17th century. The moat is expected to survive as a buried feature here. The edge of the south eastern side of the island, directly to the east of Naughton Hall, is revetted with modern brick. Access to the island is across the infilled section of the south east arm of the moat. It is thought that Naughton Hall represents a successor to an earlier house on the island. The shape of the moat suggests that the site may have originally comprised two distinct enclosures. The smaller, western section with the irregular moat is likely to have been the original site of the house, and the larger eastern section with the narrower moat may have been an associated yard or garden, possibly constructed as a later addition. A transcript of an indenture dated 20th May 1611 between Edward Grymeston of Bradfield and his eldest son and heir, Sir Harbottle Grymeston, mentions the `capital messuage or mansion house and farm commonly called Naughton in the County of Suffolk' together with `all the buildings, edifices, gardens, orchards' etc. Naughton Hall and all other outbuildings including the summer house, sheds, chicken shed and greenhouse, together with the modern brick revetting along the south eastern arm of the moat, all gates, walls, steps, the water butt, outdoor lighting, the fountain in the moat, all garden furnishings, the patio and man-made surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, however the ground beneath these features is included.