Unbeknown to most residents, there actually lies within the parish boundaries, an extremely interesting archaeological site which goes by the name of "Blithewood Moat". It lies in the far south-eastern corner of the parish and is indeed closer to the villages of Hilderstone and Leigh than Draycott or Cresswell. Little is known about this site however, other than it is listed in the Victoria County History of Stafford as a "Homestead Moat"; that is that it was once the site of a fortified Manor House. That said, there can be no doubt whatsoever that the site is of some importance archaelogically, for even to the untrained eye, it is easily discernable as being a square site protected by two deep moats. It's layout is perhaps most obvious from the air as this photograph shows:-
An ariel view of the Blithewood Moat site taken in the 1980s. Photo: The Joe Thorley Collection
One can plainly see how pronounced these earthworks are and it seems strange that we know so little of the site. However, all my research in the County Record Office and William Salt Library has not produced any evidence that the site has even been excavated. There may have been however some excatvations since the late Joe Thorley records that some chain mail armour was found on the site during the 1840s. This is backed up by a cross marked on the plan of the site in the Victoria County History, with the annotation "Chain armour found here", though unfortunately both the VCH and Joe Thorley failed to record from where they heard this.
Thus we may only hazard a guess as to what the site once was and looked like. That it was a fortified manor house indeed appears beyond doubt, since it is recorded as such and indeed from it's shape it is unlikely to be anything else. However, from what period does it date and who lived there? From the fact that chain armour was found there we may hazard a guess at either the Norman period or perhaps earlier, in Saxon times. It is unlikely to be later, for by the 15th century, Paynsley Hall was well-established as the only manor house within the vicitity and indeed this is not distant from the Blithewood Moat site at all. What's more, so far as I am aware, there is no evidence whatsoever of stone buildings at Blithewood Moat which suggests that whatever buildings were on the site were wooden, and the practice of building manors out of wood died out after the Norman Period. Therefore, we may safely assume it is Saxon or Norman, and indeed chain armour was in widespread use during those periods.
So therefore, we must now look towards written evidence of the period for clues to the origins of Blithewood Moat. The first we find can be found in Rev. Healey's "History of Draycott-le-Moors" where he records that in 1496 John Draycote "let his olde house downe and builded in another place of Draucote parish, a goodly house called Painsle". Unfortunately, Rev. Healey fails to record from where he obtained this informations, and thus we do not know how reliable his source was. Nonetheless, if we assume it to be reliable, is Blithewood Moat the "olde house" that John Draycott "let downe". There are several pointers to suggest that it was. First, the dating is about right, the older house would have been constructed after 1086, (since no such house was mentioned in the Domesday Book), and it would probably have been made out of wood. Even if it wasn't, it is very likely that John would have used the stone from his old house to build his new abode. Remember, as it is today, stone was expensive in those times and it specifically states that the old house was "let downe" rather than merely abandoned. This would also explain the proximity of such a large manor to Paynsley which was one of the foremost houses in the area.
An artists impression of the manor house that once stood within the earthworks of Blithewood Moat. Artist: Joe Thorley
However, the theory does have several flaws in it. Firstly, Blithewood Moat was only included within the parish boundaries of Draycott in the mid-twentieth century, before then it was in Leigh. Now, I do not know when the parish boundaries were formed but it is unlikely that they changed much over the last several hundred years. The house that John Draycott let down may have been "in another part of the parish", but was Blithewood Moat actually within the parish at that time? Also, one can also ask the question, why should John bother to move his house from Blithewood Moat? The Blithewood site is firstly larger and secondly far better designed and with more extensive earthworks than Paynsley. Why would he spend so much time, money and effort in moving to what strikes me as a somewhat inferior site?
Thus, we should examine some other theories as to the site's origin. One is of course that it was a Saxon Manor and unrecorded by history. If this is the case, then one must ask firstly why was it not recorded in the Domesday Book, and also, why did the Draycott's not take it over. The site is also perhaps a little large and the earthworks too extensive for the average Saxon Manor. Nonetheless, this theory cannot be discounted entirely.
The third theory has it's roots outside of Draycott. As I stated earlier, in terms of communities, Blithewood Moat is actually nearer to Hilderstone than anywhere else. Thus, it may be worth our while examining the history of Hilderstone:-
"In feudal England all land was held directly or indirectly of the king. The Domesday Book was prepared on the instructions of King William I "The Conqueror". It was intended to be a comprehensive list of landholdings in the kingdom. It was a remarkable feat that the Domesday Book was produced by 1086, (i.e. only 20 years after the Norman Conquest). There are two entries for Hilderstone) in the Doomsday Book, variously 'Hilduvestune' and 'Heldulues tone'. One entry relates to land held direct of the King and the other to a holding of Robert of Stafford, who was the younger son of Roger of Tosny. Robert of Stafford was eleventh in the list of Landowners in Staffordshire. Translations of the entries are:
'Land held of the King
"In Hilderstone ½ virgate of land. Wulfric held it. Land for one plough."
Land of Robert of Stafford
"Robert holds the fifth part of one hide himself in Heldvlves tone. Dunning and Wulfric held it; they were free men. Land for 3 ploughs.
In Lordship 1;
2 villagers, 2 smallholders and 2 slaves with one plough.
Meadow, 1 acre; woodland 1 league long and ½ wide.
Value 10s.
Vitalis holds from Robert."
The above excerpt is taken from the Hilderstone Village website by D. Crump and clearly shows that there were two manor's listed within the parish in 1086. Mr Crump assumes that they merged at some time, though perhaps the truth is that one of them is now Blithewood Moat, within Draycott parish boundaries in the 21st century? Of course this still does not explain how it fell into disuse, though, it may well explain why Blithewood Moat was never recorded? Perhaps the Malbancs (later the Draycotts), took over one of the manors mentioned in the Hilderstone entry and then later "let downe" this house and moved to Paynsley?
Whatever the case is, at present we do not know, though perhaps at a future date, the County Council may decide to fully excatvate this fascinating site and her secrets shall be revealed?
Text, M. Pointon, (2000), except for excerpt from the Hilderstone website.
The History of Paynsley Hall....
The Hilderstone Historical Website...
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