Moated site and fishpond on Fozy Moss

The moated site on Fozy Moss is exceptionally well preserved and is of unusual construction and form. Moated sites are uncommon in Northumberland.

The monument includes an unusual moated site of medieval date and an associated causeway, situated in a flat, low-lying position on an area of open moorland. The moated site, roughly oval in shape, is enclosed by a ditch 5.5m wide and 1.8m deep, with a well-preserved outer bank standing to a maximum of 1.8m high. There is an entrance 3.5m wide through the ditch and bank at the south-west. The interior of the enclosure has been raised substantially above ground level; on it, there are traces of buildings represented by three circular depressions and faint traces of banks. One of the depressions is particularly well formed and is situated at the extreme southern point of the monument. The northern part of the moated site contains a waterlogged circular depression 2.8m deep and 20m in diameter; this is interpreted as a fishpond, a feature often found in association with moated sites. A slightly raised causeway measuring 3.5m wide leads away from the entrance of the enclosure in a south-westerly direction across the surrounding marsh for 60m, before it is truncated by a drainage ditch. The moated site was possibly associated with the medieval manor of Sewingshields and Sewingshields Castle, situated 600m to the west.