Chirbury Town Defences (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Cyricbyrig

In the civil parish of Chirbury With Brompton.
In the historic county of Shropshire.
Modern Authority of Shropshire.
1974 county of Shropshire.
Medieval County of Shropshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO261985
Latitude 52.57935° Longitude -3.09174°

Chirbury Town Defences has been described as a probable Urban Defence.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the construction of a burh at Chirbury (Cyricbyrig) in 915. The ringwork west of Chirbury (PRN 00498) was formerly recorded on the SMR as the most likely site for the burh, but more recent material suggests that this is unlikely. A new record for the burh has therefore been created. Two possible point locations are marked on the SMR: at the ringwork (unlikely); and at the heart of the settlement itself (likely, but no attempt has been made at present to map the possible area of the burh). A note on the 1959 excavations at the ringwork site, interpreted by the excavator as the burh. Considered to be the fortress built by Aethelflaed in AD915 at Cyricbyrig. Excavation revealed a slight rampart of thrown up earth and stones: there was no sign of a palisade; a small ditch associated with it was apparently designed for drainage rather than for defence. Defensive arrangements had the appearance of being unfinished or, of never having been used. Examination of interior confirmed that it was never permanently occupied. No late Saxon/ early Medieval pottery found on site. No positive archaeological date for enclosure. Reasons given for assigning a C10 date to the fortress. The context for the creation of the burh at Chirbury was defence of the Mercian border not against the Welsh but against Viking attack during the Danish wars. The 1950s excavations (at the ringwork site) produced no evidence of a Saxon date and showed it was only lightly defended. Suggests that the burh was a much larger enclosure than the medieval ringwork, and was built around the village on an axis parallel with its roads. (Shropshire SMR)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 925177.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 08251.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2013, Medieval Walled Towns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 157 (mention)
  Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 58
  Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p. 266
  Britnell, W. J., and Martin, C. H. R., 2000, Bro Trefaldwyn Historic Landscape: Historic Landscape Characterization (CPAT Report 356) p. 75
  Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report 61) p. 92-116 online copy
  Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p. 204
  Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p. 37 (incorrect) online copy
Periodical Articles
- Wainwright, F.T., 1960 Feb, 'The Chirbury excavation (1958)' Shropshire Archaeological Society newsletter Vol. 10
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Ingram, James, (ed) 1912, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Everyman Press, London) AD915 view online transcription (Ingram's translation and notes date from 1823. More recent translations of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles should be consulted for serious study)
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Britnell William, J. et al, 2000, Bro Trefaldwyn historic landscape: historic landscape characterisation (CPAT Report 356) p. 75 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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