Glazeley

Description

Flat topped mound. This may be a windmill mound (Cantrill T C. 1930. Map annotation by OS Correspondent.).
A grass covered mound, inconspicuously sited, 60m south of Glazely Church. it averages 19.5m in diameter, and is 1.3m high on the uphill side, and 1.7m high on the downhill side. There is no trace of a ditch and the level summit has a diameter of 9m. While the possibility of a mill mound exists the form and position also suggest that it may have been a small motte. There is no indication of a bailey (1979. Ordnance Survey Record Card SO78NW3)
The names of Mill Cottage and Mill Coppice appear at SO705885 and SO 707883 respectively. (A Tyler comment?).
A flat topped mound .. It is oval, with diameters of approx 16m and 20m and a top diameter of 9m. It is up to 2m high. It does, however, have a ditch, visible on the S and W sides, 6-7m wide (erosion of the mound may have increased its width), and 0.3m deep. To the NW of the mound, there is a large shallow depression, possibly a quarry pit which provided extra material for the earthwork. Alternatively, it might be the site of an old house-the owner reported finds of bricks in this paddock. In the field to the S (not entered) were two perpendicular banks or scarps which could be part of a bailey, or old field boundaries. This mound is very likely to be a motte, particularly given its position and the existence of a ditch. The Mill Coppice and Mill Cottage name 0.5km away on a stream have been taken to suggest an interpretation of this site as a windmill. However, the names are more likely to apply to a water mill given their location (Horton Wendy B. 1991-Feb-01. Site Visit)
Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Medium score as one of 43 Motte castles (Horton Wendy B. 1990/ 1991. MPP Evaluation File)
Scheduled in 2000 as a round barrow. (Shropshire HER)

earthwork and buried remains of a Bronze Age round barrow constructed of earth and situated on a gentle east to north east facing slope in an area of undulating land. The barrow mound is about 21m in diameter at its base. Its flat top, 8m across, may be the result of later modification. In relation to the sloping ground on which it stands, the height of the mound increases from 1.6m to 2.2m. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried feature, approximately 3m wide. (Scheduling Report)

Comments

A ditched mound, initially interpreted as a windmill mound, then as a motte and given a 'medium score' as a motte in the Monument Protection Programme of 1990-1 but then scheduled as a Bronze Age bowl barrow in 2000. The reason for scheduling the site as a bowl barrow is obscure. The location and tenurial history are entirely consistent with this being a motte (of the knight's fee symbolic type). It is, of course, also possible it was a bowl barrow adapted as a motte. This site should not be excluded as a possible motte without further investigation.