Pennerley; The Knapp (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
The Napp

In the civil parish of Worthen With Shelve.
In the historic county of Shropshire.
Modern Authority of Shropshire.
1974 county of Shropshire.
Medieval County of Shropshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO35129933
Latitude 52.58792° Longitude -2.95912°

Pennerley; The Knapp has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Small mutilated Medieval motte surviving as a largely natural mound. Thought originally to have been a barrow with a slab visible at the top interpreted as a cist. There is an alleged unfinished bailey to north though this is not proven. The mound, which is largely natural, has a base diameter of about 25m and a height of 4.8m on the west side. Around the north side of the summit, which has a diameter of 10m, is an earthen bank, 4m wide and 0.7m high, which may be a ringwork. There are no traces of a bailey. (PastScape)

The Knapp, a round barrow. From The Knapp a (? natural) mound 15 yards wide extends 39 yards north from the hedge. Further down the hill (SO 35169938) is a very low circular bank 13 ft in diameter with three very small stones across it (Annotated Record Map L F Chitty 30.3.49).
Certainly a motte, with bailey, perhaps unfinished, to the north. Visited with N Thomas and J Holmes 31.8.58. (F1 ALFR 11-SEP-58).
At SO 35139936 is what appears to be a natural mound, bounded on its north and east by three straight sections of low bank.
The Knapp is scheduled as a round barrow, and is not included by Hogg and C King in their list of Welsh border castles (Arch Camb 112 & 119).
A small, mutilated motte situated upon the S end of a small, natural ridge, with commanding views in all directions. The mound, which is largely natural, has a base diameter of about 25.0m and a height of 4.8m on the W side. The S side has been cut about by the construction of a cottage, The Napp, and its boundary fences and banks. Around the N side of the summit, which has a diameter of 10.0m, is an earthen bank, 4.0m wide, 0.7m high, which may be evidence for this work being a ring work, the interior being about 2.0m above the level of the ridge to the N, or it may result from excavation into the mound from the S, for soil. There are no traces of a bailey, the ridge to the N being entirely natural.
Nothing was seen on the ground of the 'straight sections of low bank' nor of the circular bank, the field is of hummocky rough pasture which slopes to the W, N and E around the end of the ridge (F2 ASP 03-DEC-73). (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1017347, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 32295
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 107416.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 01233.

Books
- Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 126
  Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 88 (slight)
  Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 45
  Wall (after Downham), 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol. 1 p. 412
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1987, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 30429 (01/05/1986)

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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