Longnor mound (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ487003
Latitude 52.59814° Longitude -2.75732°

Longnor mound has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

Moat marked on OS map by Chitty.
A small oval shaped mound c6m in diameter and up to 1.8m high. There is a ditch on the N side and slight traces of one on the east side. Unclear as to whether or not this is an antiquity-It could be a landscaping feature. It is certainly not a moated site as suggested by Chitty. It is most closely akin to a motte in form and also in its defensive siting and proximity to the church (Watson Michael D. 1981-Mar-24)
Site of the Manor House of Longnor? (Barker 1959)
Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Medium score as one of 43 Motte castles.
A roughly circular earthen mound about 11m in diameter and standing to a height of 1.5m situated on a gentle north west facing slope occupying a slightly elevated position above the flood plain of the Cound Brook. The western part of the mound is degraded, there is modern disturbance to the eastern part, and from a depression in the top it would appear that the mound has been dug into at some time in the past. There is no visible indication of an encircling ditch. The mound lies within the deer park of Longnor Hall, a late 17th century mansion, and close to St Mary's Church, built in the late 13th century. The function of this mound is not certain. However, its size would suggest it is unlikely to have been constructed as a motte (Reid 1999).

Comments

The mound was known to Lily Chitty who did write about mottes but does not seem to have been identified as a motte by her. Whatever this is it seems a slight feature and given how well the county has been surveyed must have slight for some time. The location is possible for manorial centre of Longnor and might be a precursor to Longnor Hall. The early social status of the tenant of Longnor was not great although the manor did become more important. Could be a 'knight's fee' motte of a sort usually found rather deeper in the marches, equally could be a park feature (a mound for viewing hunting?; a tree stand?). The comment that its sizes makes it unlikely as a motte would be probably true in most of the country but in this area there are a number of mounds of this size that are called mottes. However, on balance, Gatehouse is of the opinion this mound is not a motte and not the site of a residence.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 67761.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 00832.

Periodical Articles
- Barker, P.A., 1959, Shropshire Newsletter Vol. 7 p. 1
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Reid Malcolm L., 1999, Non-Scheduling Alternative Action Report, Submission 26, 07-Sep-1999

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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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