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| This feature, off Sambourne Lane, is
well-known to Coughton folk. It was the site of the manor house of Wyke. This manorial
estate can be traced back to A.D. 1222 but by the late 15th century it had become
incorporated in its larger neighbour, Coughton manor. De Peyto is the main name associated
with Wyke Manor: as for the house which stood within the moat, its date of origin, like
that of Coughton Court, is not known. The depth of the ditches making up the moat show
this to be a truly defensive site rather than a mere customary adjunct for a capital house
and therefore likely to have been constructed in the early Middle Ages when England was in
an unsettled state and when many small manor houses would have been timber built and
without the strength of stone walls. Today, part of the moat is still water-filled. |
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