Mid February and below zero temperatures after many weeks rain have frozen the surface of the flooded ditch of Hardicanut’s Moat. According to local folklore Hardicanut (Canute’s son and the king of England from 1040 to 1042) lived at this moated enclosure in the woods at Burnham Beeches, hence the name Hardicanut’s Moat. It is also know as Harlequin’s palace and Hartley court. Archaeologists date the site from between C12th and C14th. This was the golden age of building moated houses, built for fashion rather than for defence. Hardicaunut's Moat / Hartley Court is regarded as the best preserved medieval moated site in south Buckinghamshire, and is amongst the finest in the region. The interior retains evidence for the subdivision of the settlement into different areas of activity, and contains the buried remains of a complex of former structures from which the function and duration of the site may be determined. The seasonally flooded rectangular ditch maintains much of its original appearance and still functions as originally intended.