Lee Brockhurst (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Moreton Corbet And Lee Brockhurst.
In the historic county of Shropshire.
Modern Authority of Shropshire.
1974 county of Shropshire.
Medieval County of Shropshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ54632721
Latitude 52.84043° Longitude -2.67493°

Lee Brockhurst has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The fragment of a castle mound, 9 ft. high at Lee Brockhurst destroyed about 1936 (VCH 1908)
Two bones from a tumulus at Lea Brockhurst were given to Shrewsbury Museum 7.2.1842 ?Lost (L.F. Chitty undated)
From a mound in Lee, a sword was taken 'a few years since'. It was stolen before being seen by any authority. (Possibly applies) (Hill 1829).
The feature is shown on OS 25" of 1901 as a hollow. This has been obliterated and the site built upon. No trace of a mound was found in the vicinity (F1 JR 05-FEB-62). (PastScape)

Comments

Appears on 1888 OS map marked tumulus (Gatehouse does not agree that it was shown as a hollow on the 1901 map, it is marked tumulus and hatched in an ambiguous way). The position next to manor house and church (original a chapel of ease) makes identification as motte certainly possible, although some churches were deliberately sited next to ancient burial mounds and it is, of course, quite possible for an ancient mound to be reused/adapted as a motte. There is some ambiguity as to the Domesday Book reference to the manor but seems to be accepted as the very small manor of Lege held by Norman the Hunter. It doesn't seem likely this small manor could ever have sustained a large manor house with anything like extensive defences but reusing an old burial mound as a token motte would involve little expense and can not be excluded. The manor was held for half a knights fee in the mid C13.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 70694.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 01138.

Books
- Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 98
  Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 87 (slight)
  Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 32-3
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 434
  Wall (after Downham), 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol. 1 p. 384-6
  Eyton, R.W., 1859, Antiquities of Shropshire (London: John Russell Smith) Vol. 9 p. 361- (tenurial history) online copy
  Hill, J.,1829, Antiquites of Hawkstone p. 53
Periodical Articles
- Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124

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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.

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