Brow Castle, Westbury (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Brough Castle; Lower Newton Farm

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ38340844
Latitude 52.67065° Longitude -2.91309°

Brow Castle, Westbury has been described as a Uncertain but is rejected as such.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

A square moat surrounds Lower Newton Farm (13401), which presumably is on the site of the former hamlet of Newton. The dry moat is up to 1.5m deep and remains on all but the east side of the house (Ordnance Survey Record Card 1971).
Rectangular moated site of which three sides survive. The N and W arms are best preserved and average c 6m wide and c 1.5m deep. It was probably fed by a stream that now runs along the W arm. The island measures c 28m square and is raised c 0.5m above the surrounding ground level. A timber framed farmhouse (SA 13401) stood on the island till it was demolished in the 1970s. Short stretches of outer bank can be traced along the N & S arms of the moat (M Watson 1981 Shrop SMR field report). (Shropshire HER)

A square moat surrounds Lower Newton Farm, which presumably is on the site of the former hamlet of Newton.
It was in a derelict condition in 1965. Late 16th-17th century it is a large timber-framed house of two storeys, later cased in brick and stone. Nearby is a small square dovecote of Jacobean brick. Lower Newton is said to have been known as Brough Castle, and there was probably a house here from early times. (VCH 1968; Forrest 1923-4)
Lower Newton Farm is in a ruinous state. The dry moat is up to 1.5m deep and remains on all but the east side of the house (F1 MHB 18-JUN-71). (PastScape)

Comments

A homestead moat, not of manorial status. Presumably, at some time, the moat was occupied by a house with grandiose name and probably some decorative battlements. The C17, Grade 2 listed Dovecot may be a relic of the period when the house had such pretensions.
There was a Newetone recorded in the Shropshire Domesday which is an unlocated site but this was listed as in Merset Hundred and this site appears to be in neighbouring Reweset Hundred.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 66309.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 03428.

Books
- Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 69 (reject)
  Gaydon, A.T. (ed), 1968, VCH Shropshire Vol. 8 p. 305
  Wall (after Downham), 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol. 1 p. 405
Periodical Articles
- Watson, M.D., 1987, 'Gazetteer of Moated Sites in Shropshire' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 65 p. 8
  1980, Moated Sites Research Group Report Vol. 7 p. 52
  Forest, M.E., 1923-4, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 42 p. 237-8
  1892, Shropshire Notes and Queries (reprinted from The Shrewsbury Chronicle ) Vol. 1 p. 32-3

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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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