King's Leat

Has been described as a Questionable Fortified Manor House

There are earthwork remains

NameKing's Leat
Alternative NamesKing's Mill moat
Historic CountryPembrokeshire
Modern AuthorityPembrokeshire
1974 AuthorityDyfed
CommunityCastlemartin

This site lies in dense deciduous woodland towards the foot of a gentle north-facing slope at 10m above sea level. It consists of a horseshoe shaped bank, 1.8m high internally and 3m above a wide, flat-bottomed ditch, enclosing a sub-rectangular area 70m N-S and 50m E-W. The bank peters out on the north side. A gap in the bank on the northeast side may be an entrance.

Because of the vegetation cover it has been difficult to classify this site. Its location favours a medieval moated site, but its form is more akin to an Iron Age defended enclosure. (K Murphy 5 October 2006 - compiled from several sources)

An embanked trapezoid enclosure, c.76m by 43m-72m, with traces of a ditch, set on a damp valley floor, having its broad end open towards a stream on the N, and a simple entrance to the SE. (Coflein as Iron Age)

The monument comprises the remains of a defended enclosure, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). Inland promontory forts are usually located on a ridge or spur with steep slopes on 2 or 3 sides, and artificial ramparts on the level approaches. Alternatively they may have been constructed on a promontory above the confluence of two rivers, or in the bend of a meander. kings Mill Camp is small and irregularly shaped, being defended on three sides by a 10ft high bank. the fourth side is defended by a stream. (Scheduling Report)

Gatehouse Comments

Has the possibility of this being some earthwork (possibly unfinished) designed for water management for the mill been excluded? Is this not really an attempt to make a mill pool?

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSR924988
Latitude51.649658203125
Longitude-5.0020899772644
Eastings192410
Northings198800
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

No photos available. If you can provide pictures please contact Castlefacts

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

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Books

  • Spurgeon, C.J., 1981, Medieval Moated Sites in NW Europe
  • Rees, Wm, 1932, Map of South Wales and the Border in the 14th century (Ordnance Survey) (A handbook to the map was published in 1933)
  • RCAHMW, 1925, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Pembrokeshire (HMSO) p. 93 no. 236 online copy

Journals

  • Spurgeon, C.J., 1978, 'Medieval moated sites in Wales: present knowledge and future prospect' Archaeology in Wales Vol. 18 p. 18-29

Other

  • K Murphy, R Ramsey, P Poucher and M Page, 2007, A survey of defended enclosures in Pembrokeshire, 2006-07: Gazetteer of Ordnance Survey grid squares SR89, SR99, SS09 and SS19 (Cambria Archaeology) online copy