Tong Castle Hill (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Tonge; Tongue; Tong Norton

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ79420800
Latitude 52.66931° Longitude -2.30568°

Tong Castle Hill has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Castle Hill motte and bailey castle at Tong Norton is a well-preserved example of this class of monument. Extensive remains of the structures that stood on the motte and within the bailey are expected to survive, which together with the associated artefacts and organic remains, will provide valuable evidence about the activities and lifestyle of the site's inhabitants. Documentary references provide valuable information about the length of its occupation, believed to be some 200 years, in relation to the nearby castle to the south west. The monument remains a prominent feature within the landscape.
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a motte and bailey castle known as Castle Hill, in the hamlet of Tong Norton. The castle is probably that mentioned in a charter dated 1185-90, although it is unclear whether an earlier documentary reference to a castle at Tong in 1098 relates to this site or to the castle 1.1km to the south west (mostly destroyed by the construction of the M54). It is probable that land referred to as 'Olde Castle' in a document dated 1320 is the castle at Tong Norton, indicating that the castle may have been abandoned by that time. The motte has been formed from a natural steep-sided, flat-topped knoll of red sandstone beside the River Wolfe, which is surrounded by gently undulating land. This kidney-shaped mound measures approximately 40m by 55m at its base, 28m by 33m (maximum dimensions) across the top and is between 5m and 2.5m high. The sides of the knoll may have been artifically enhanced to increase its defensiveness. To the south of the mound lies a triangular shaped bailey, measuring 40m by 65m internally (maximum dimensions). It is defined on its eastern side by a well-defined scarp, up to 0.8m high, created by cutting into the natural slope. On its western side it is defined by a natural slope, possibly artifically enhanced, that falls towards the River Wolfe. (Scheduling Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1019202, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 33805
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 73653.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 01071.

Books
- Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 163-4
  Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 80
  Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 59
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 431
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 324
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
Periodical Articles
- 1905, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 5 p. 248
  Auden, J.E., 1897-8, Bye Gones (ser2) Vol. 5 p. 407
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Dugdale, William (Caley, J., Ellis, H. and Bandinel, B. (eds)), 1817-30 (originally pub. 1655-73), Monasticon Anglicanum (London) Vol. 6.1 p. 263 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 397
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 5 p. 16 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- English Heritage, 2012, Heritage at Risk Register 2012 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 37 online copy
  English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 35 online copy
  English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 36 online copy
  English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 46 online copy
  Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1987, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 31993 (02/02/1987)

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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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