Swan Bank, Caverswall (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Dead Mans Hill

In the civil parish of Caverswall.
In the historic county of Staffordshire.
Modern Authority of Staffordshire.
1974 county of Staffordshire.
Medieval County of Staffordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ94214303
Latitude 52.98464° Longitude -2.08767°

Swan Bank, Caverswall has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

Burial mound at Swan Bank, Cookshill is circular in form measuring 139 ft diameter and 10ft high. Excavation revealed no finds. (VCH)
Swan Bank-possible barrow. A large flat-topped circular mound surrounded by a well-defined and comparatively deep ditch. It has all the attributes of a large bowl barrow but owing to negative excavation evidence, its origin, date and purpose must remain in question. Situated at SJ 9421 4303. (F1 AC 09-AUG-51)
Not a barrow; probably a medieval moated site. Known locally as the Roman Soldiers Burial Ground. Scraps of Samian ware have been found in the vicinity.
No change. It appears to be a motte in wet, low lying ground. (F2 DJC 27-NOV-74) (PastScape)

Comments

Marked as Motte on OS map.
Other side of River Blithe from Caverswall Castle; Is this being suggested a precursor? Not a convincing site for a motte; not near medieval settlement (but is close to mill site); no evidence of a bailey; in a flood plain. The reason for dismissing this as a burial mound is unclear, although low lying site may not be typical for barrows. Surrounding ditch precludes animal flood stand. Within view of Caverswall Castle, possibly a late medieval or later landscaping feature. The site has a local name of Dead Mans Hill and a reputation as a C17 civil war burial site.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 77834.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 00559.

Books
- Lynam, Charles, 1908, 'Ancient Earthworks' in Page, Wm. (ed), VCH Staffordshire Vol. 1 p. 375 (burial mound) online copy

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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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