Down Barns Moated Site

Historic England identifies Down Barns as a medieval moated site at Down Barns Farm. The site lies on gently sloping, low-lying ground near Yeading Brook and Ten Acres nature reserve. Its platform is described as up to 86 metres long and 47 metres wide, standing up to about 3 metres above the moat’s water level. The moat varies in width; on the western side it has probably become partly infilled and survives as a buried feature. An eastern causeway gives access to the platform. The manor’s early history is uncertain: Roger de la Downe held freehold land in Northolt in 1212; the holding was in William de Scaccario’s possession in 1293, and Ralph Basset of Drayton acquired it by 1326. The manor was later sold to John de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, and around 1354 to Simon Francis. Historic England describes the monument as a good example that survives well and may retain archaeological and environmental information.