Winsbury Castle Mound (The Gatehouse Record)

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: SO24659835
Latitude 52.57773° Longitude -3.11336°

Winsbury Castle Mound has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Winsbury Motte. Rescue excavations in 1961 by the Ministry of Works before its destruction showed this mutilated motte to have been approximately 80 feet in diameter and 12-15 feet above original ground level. It was surrounded by a ditch up to 13 feet deep. A 19th century observer (Clark) suggests that the farm occupies a base-court but no evidence for one could be found (if some slight earthworks to the S of the farm be excepted which would make it impossibly large). The earliest pottery found was 13th century, suggesting that this is one of the mottes refortified in 1224 by order of Henry III.
The possible existence of a small Romano-British settlement may be indicated by the discovery below the motte of a straight, U-shaped ditch, 5 1/2 feet deep which was traced for 65 feet. It contained a mortarium, a flagon rim and a spindle whorl (Addyman).
This motte has been completely destroyed and its site is occupied by a dutch barn. No trace of the RB Settlement can be recognised nor the "slight earthworks" noted by Addyman unless a few slight building platforms of late date in the field centred SO24599818 refer (Ordnance Survey Field Investigator 1 DJC 06-MAR-73).
This location falls within the area mapped from aerial photographs by RCHME's Marches Uplands Mapping Project, but no features were recorded on the site of the motte by that survey. Possible features associated with Medieval settlement were recorded to the south (SO 29 NW 54). (RCHME: Marches Uplands Mapping Project). (PastScape)

Comments

In the 1255 Hundred Roll the manor is recorded as being held by the heirs of Walter le Fleming for half a knights fee and three weeks castle guard at Montgomery in wartime. The motte was not a large one and must have functioned mainly as the base for a timber tower mainly of symbolic value of the military status of the tenant living in the buildings long lost under the modern adjacent farm. The Winsbury placename may well suggest that those lost buildings were the hall and chamber of a Saxon thegn defended with a palisade, or even a hedge and with the motte added post-Conquest.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 105562.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 00912.

Books
- Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 186
  Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 67
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 433 (Chirbury No. 7)
  Eyton, R.W., 1860, Antiquities of Shropshire (London: John Russell Smith) Vol. 11 p. 167 (tenurial history) online copy
Periodical Articles
- King, D.J.C. and Spurgeon, C.J., 1965, 'The mottes in the Vale of Montgomery' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 114 p. 78-9
  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
  (Addyman, P.V.), 1962-3, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 6-7 p. 323 download copy
  Addyman, P.V., 1962, Shropshire Archaeological Society newsletter Vol. 17 p. 1
  Chitty, Lily, 1949, 'Subsidiary Castle Sites West of Shrewsbury' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society Vol. 53 p. 83-90
  Clark, G.T., 1880, 'The moated mounds of the Upper Severn' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 35 p. 207 online copy
  Clark, G.T., 1877, 'The moated mounds of the upper Severn' Montgomeryshire Collections Vol. 10 p. 336 online copy
  1877, Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 32 p. 160-1 (reprint of letter to The Times 1876 April 11 from 'C' (?Clark))

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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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