Prawls Farm moated site (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Abdale, Apdale

In the civil parish of Stone cum Ebony.
In the historic county of Kent.
Modern Authority of Kent.
1974 county of Kent.
Medieval County of Kent.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ924266
Latitude 51.00660° Longitude 0.74109°

Prawls Farm moated site has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

A large moated site situated on the fringe of the flood plain of the River Rother. Kilburn suggests that the ruins of a great structure at Abdale or Apdale, supposed to have been a castle, were probably storehouses for merchants when the sea reached further inland. Bradshaw considers a rectangular earthwork, probably a Medieval moat to be the site referred to by Kilburne. Apart from clear evidence of a tower-like structure in the south west corner, no trace of buildings survive above ground level. Excavations by the landowner, have revealed encaustic tiles, knives, pot sherds, a spur and some nails. The description of the tiles suggest a 15th century date and a building of some substance. It would seem that this was a medieval dwelling, whatever else it may have been. The site is similarly situated to Little Maytham (TQ 82 NE 2) and Bodiam Old Manor (TQ 72 NE 7), both moated sites of 12th - 13th century dates, higher up the Rother valley. (Kent HER)

APDALE is a small manor here, the stone mansion of which has been long since ruinated, the scite of it only now remaining, appears to have been of no small size. The demesnes of it have been for some length of time added to a farm called Prauls, situated about a mile westward from the church. (Hasted)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 419281.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) TQ 92 NW 7.

Books
- Hasted, Edward, 1799 (2edn), The history and topographical survey of the county of Kent Vol. 8 p. 480 online transcription
  Kilburne, R., 1659, A Topography or Survey of the County of Kent
Periodical Articles
- 1979, Moated Sites Research Group Report Vol. 6 p. 48
  Tatton-Brown, T., 1977, 'Investigations and Excavations during the Year' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 93 p. 222 online copy
  Lebon, M.C., 1969, 'Reports from Local Secretaries and Groups' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 84 p. 240-1

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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