Crop marks of an apparent rectangular enclosure were noted by the aerial photographer Jim Pickering in 1967.

 

The farmer was interested in the history of his land and three trenches were dug, two to cut the features visible from the air and one to test the central and higher level. The central oblong features within the enclosure were concluded to have been fishponds and the irregular rectangle of the outer ditch was consistent with other Moated sites in the East Midlands. The central test pit revealed no structures nor was any firm dating evidence found.

 

A large house adjacent to the field on the northern side is known as the Grange and this may provide the clue to the area’s original use when attached in some way to a monastic order possibly in Southwell.

 

When this use of the land was no longer required the field was flooded to provide a head of water for the mill in the S.E. corner of the field. This darn is clearly marked on several maps of the 18th and 19th centuries. Further work could be justified on the history of this mill.

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