Hinstock Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Hinstock.
In the historic county of Shropshire.
Modern Authority of Shropshire.
1974 county of Shropshire.
Medieval County of Shropshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ69072604
Latitude 52.83099° Longitude -2.46051°

Hinstock Castle has been described as a probable Uncertain.

There are no visible remains.

Description

There are said to be the remains of an ancient castle at Hinstock.. There are no visible remains at the published siting (see OS 6in 1902) which falls upon a low ridge of pastureland, overlooking former swamp and bog on the NW (Ordnance Survey 1975 Record Card SJ62NE4)
A man using a metal detector on the site in 1983 found some flints, a piece of bronze, a piece of wood encased in lead, 1 segment of drinking vessel (Ward Penny A. 1983. Notes). (Shropshire HER)

Alleged site of a castle at Hinstock. There are no visible remains on the ground and it must remain conjectural. During the medieval period Hinstock belonged to the 'Pantulf' family as part of the barony of Wem, and who also built castles at Tyrley and Wem.
There are said to be traces of an ancient castle at Hinstock (Hulbert).
There are no visible remains of a castle at the published siting which falls upon a low ridge of pastureland, overlooking former swamp and bog on the NW (F1 ASP 19-SEP-75). (PastScape)

Comments

Hinstock was a very small Domesday manor but a small 'castle' here, representing the military status of the sub-tenant, is possibly although the caput of the Pandolf holdings in this part of Shropshire was Wem. However one would expect that house (fortified or not) to be next to the church (SJ694263) or, at least, in the village. However the given site is some 450m SW of the church. There was a residence of some status at Hinstock in the C13 (when a residence somewhat away from the village is more possible) as the manor was part of a complex dispute but there is nothing to really suggest what the form of that residence was.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 72377.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 01149.

Books
- Walker, S.S., 'Litigation as Pprsonal Quest' in Sue Sheridan Walker (ed), Wife and Widow in Medieval England (University of Michigan Press) p. 96-7 online preview
  Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 27
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 435 (possible)
  Eyton, R.W., 1859, Antiquities of Shropshire (London: John Russell Smith) Vol. 8 p. 20-23 (tenurial history) online copy
  Hulbert, C.,1837, History and Description of Salop Vol. 2 p. 110

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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