Marton; The Mount

Description

The motte (now destroyed) rose from low lying field once part of Marton pool, lying to NE. Bailey lies to SSW and was separated from mottes by wide shallow ditch. The bailey has little defence towards lake, but ditch 6ft deep and bank 7ft high at W angle. Motte was 17ft high with top only 20ft across-Vale of Montgomery type, tentatively ascribed to the activities of Roger de Montgomery and small tenants under his auspices in 1075 -1102, probably after 1086 (King and Spurgeon 1965).
The motte and half of the bailey of Marton motte were levelled in 1967/8. All that remains is that part of the bailey which lies beyond the hedge in the field to the south (Spurgeon 1967). (Shropshire HER)

The remains of a motte and bailey at Marton are known as The Mount. The motte and much of the bailey were obliterated during the winter of 1967-8. It originally stood at the edge of Marton Pool, now so diminished that its nearest shore lies some 270 yards to the east. Marton hamlet lies south-west of the site along a low ridge at a slightly higher level. The motte stood at the western side of a level marshy field and was cut off from the gently rising ground to the south-west by the arc of a wide shallow and very marshy ditch. It stood to a height of 17 feet with a diameter of 85 feet at base and a mere 20 feet on the flat summit. The roughly rectangular bailey occupied the rising ground to the south-west, measuring internally 185 feet east-west, by 120 feet north-south. On the west and south sides it was defined by a bank and external ditch. To its north was the ditch of the motte, while on the east was a mere scarp, clearly indicating that when the castle was built Marton Pool provided sufficient defence on this flank - as it did for the motte which had no traces of a ditch towards the pool. A hedge-line divided the bailey into two, and it is that part south of the hedge which alone survives. No record of the castle is known but it may have been one of those "mottes in the Vale of Montgomery", whose owners were commanded by Henry III in 1225 "... that without delay they have their mottes defended with good bretasches (timber towers and for palisades), for their own safety and defence of that of those parks".
Slight scarps to the west and south-west of the castle may mark part of the Medieval vill, and possible house-sites have been noticed on the other side of the main road (Spurgeon; APs)
The site of the motte and its surrounding ditch are still visible though much reduced. The south-west side of the bailey remains and its inner bank in the north-west rises to a height of 2.6 metres. Low scarps to the south-west of the bailey probably indicate the site of Medieval buildings (F1 MHB 10-MAR-71)
No change to previous field report. Published 1:2500 survey, 1972, correct. No possible house sites are now visible to the south-west of the castle, nor across the main road to the north-west (F2 ASP 11-JAN-80)
Traces of the motte are visible as very slight earthworks on aerial photographs, and have been mapped by RCHME's Marches Uplands Mapping Project. The bailey ditch shown on the Ordnance Survey map was obscured by trees on all available photographs and has not been recorded, but a linear earthwork 18m long, possibly a fragment of the bailey bank, was recorded immediately to the south of the motte. Linear earthworks to the west and north of the motte may represent traces of the Medieval vill, and have been recorded separately (APs)
Assessed for scheduling but rejected. The motte and half of the bailey were levelled in 1967-8. An archaeological evaluation in 1974 prior to the building of a house in the area found nothing of significance. Normal planning controls should apply (Non-Scheduling Alternative Action Report Submission, 08-Sep-1999). (PastScape)

Comments

Small Domesday manor held by Alward son of Almund from the Shrewsbury Church of St. Chad (although may actually have been held from Earl Roger - certainly was treated as such later). Alward was a Saxon who's land holding appear to have actually increased after the Conquest. Although the manor was small if it was a caput of Alward's holding it could be that Alward himself altered his Saxon hall and burh into a motte and bailey. However it seems most writes assume the castle dates to the early C12 after the revolt of Earl Roger lead to the manor being escheated to the Crown and then being granted to the Honour of Montgomery after which the tenants owed, for the manor, service of half a knight's fee at Montgomery castle.