[TQ 9115 6400] Moat [NR] (1) Low banks extend from the church at Sittingbourne to Bayford Court which is surrounded by a moat, three sides of which remain. [See plan AO/LP/62/150.] Bayford Court may be the fortress which the Danish army built at Middleton in 893. Castle Rough (TQ 96 NW 10) is usually said to be the site of the work, but its form is against this view, and it would seem probable that the lines of work about Bayford Court are more likely to have sheltered Hasten's men (2). The moat at Bayford Court is as described by Gould, water-filled but in poor condition. The enclosed area, now a kitchen garden, is full of building debris including flint and ragstone. The low banks shown by Gould are practically destroyed but do not appear to have been of any importance. The present Bayford Court is c. 1700 and later in external appearance but there is half-timbered work internally. O.S. published 1:1250 correct (3). [TQ 911 640] Bayford Court, listed in the county checklist for moated sites in Kent - December 1979 (4). Bayford Court moated house may be identical with Bayford "Castle" (see TQ 96 SW 42) (5). Additional references (6,7) and site photographs(8). Seen in 2004: Moat still in existence and comprises a narrow waterway. Unable to determine how far the moat extends. (9)

In 2020, the moat was described as being in poor condition, suffering from heavily-overgrown vegetation and filled with building debris such as flint and ragstone in a Heritage Statement report. (10)

<1> OS 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE48369.

<2> VCH Kent 1 1908 433 plan (I C Gould) (OS Card Reference). SKE50909.

<3> F1 CFW 08-JUL-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42484.

<4> Moated Sites Research Gp 6 1979 47 (OS Card Reference). SKE47290.

<5> Castellarium Anglicanum I 1983 236 (D J Cathcart King) (OS Card Reference). SKE38613.

<6> Field report for monument TQ 96 SW 15 - July, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4941.

<7> Sittingbourne and Swale Archaeological Group, Site Files, C20 9661 101 (Index). SWX9396.

<8> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9622.

<9> Wessex Archaeology, 2005, North Kent Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey: Phase ll: Field Assessment Year One report (Unpublished document). SWX12121.

<10> 2020, Heritage Statement, Moores Yard, Crown Quay Lane, Sittingbourne, ME10 3JN (Unpublished document). SKE53623.