Radmore (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Red Moor; Redmoor; Redmoore; Rademore; Ann's Well in Court Bank's Covert; Courtbanks Covert

In the civil parish of Cannock Wood.
In the historic county of Staffordshire.
Modern Authority of Staffordshire.
1974 county of Staffordshire.
Medieval County of Staffordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SK04291170
Latitude 52.70260° Longitude -1.93793°

Radmore has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a probable Palace, and also as a Fortified Manor House although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Moat, probably the site of a royal hunting lodge built by Henry II in 1157-8 and later used as a private hunting lodge by the Bishops of Lichfield.
Duignan associates this moat with the site of the King's House at Redmore, mentioned 1155 and later (Pipe Rolls). In 1160, a fishpond was mentioned. About 200 yards north-east from the moat a dam has been thrown across the valley : this may be the remains of the fish-pond (Duignan 1884).
A large rectangular homestead moat constructed across the bottom of the valley of the Redmoor Brook. It is in fairly good condition and is now practically dry. No evidence of a building was seen.
At SK 04371190 is a large earthen pond-bay across a small stream. This may mark the site of the fish-pond but there has been iron-working in the immediate vicinity of the moat, see SK 01 SW 8, and this pond-bay is possibly associated with it (F1 WCW 05-MAY-58).
In 1154, the monks of Red Moor Abbey in Cannock Forest (SK01SW10) petitioned the King to move them to a new site. Following their departure, the king created a royal hunting lodge in the chase, presumably on the site of the abbey. Early in the reign of Henry III, the Bishop of Lichfield appropriated most of the forest, and his successors succeeded in obtaining recognition of its conversion to a private chase. The site of the hunting lodge is still visible as a rectangular moated enclosure known as 'Moat Bank' in Courtbanks Covert, Radmore (HKW).
As a consequence of the extensive drainage and clearance work now being undertaken in Courtbanks Covert, the channel of the Redmoor Brook has been re-cut where it runs through the SW and part of the SE arms of the moat (F2 DJC 20-AUG-74). (PastScape)

Comments

Another possible site for the castle of Cannock mentioned, as there being records of a castle, in 1851, though may be farmstead moat or monastic grange. Duignan records expenditure of £8 in 1162 on a fishpond at Radmore and on this bases puts the kings house here rather than at Castle Ring. The History of the King's Works records this as successor to the King's lodge of Cannock. However, it should be noted the reason the monks moved 'as a result of the oppressions of the foresters who rode there every week' suggesting there was a hunting lodge in the area before the monks moved and the use of the Radmore site may have been as ancillary accommodation to the Castle Ring site. It is possible that both Duignan and HKW thought of Castle Ring as a pre-historic hill fort only and were unaware of the remains of sizeable medieval buildings within the hill fort.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1003750, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number st241
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 304788.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 50591.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 1997, Castles and Moated Mansions of Staffordshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 39
  Greenslade, M.W. and Pugh, R.B. (eds), 1970, VCH Staffordshire Vol. 3 p. 225 (on Cisterican monastry) online transcription
  Greenslade, M.W., 1967, in Greenslade, M.W. and Jenkins, J.G. (eds), VCH Staffordshire Vol. 2 p. 338- (for history of Cannock Forest and Foresters))
  Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol. 2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p. 988-9
  Greenslade, M.W. and Midgley, L.M., 1959 in Midgley, L.M. (ed), VCH Staffordshire Vol. 5 p. 57 - online transcription
  Lynam, Charles, 1908, 'Ancient Earthworks' in Page, Wm. (ed), VCH Staffordshire Vol. 1 p. 359 (homestead moat) online copy
  Shaw, Stebbing, 1801, The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (J.Nichols and Son) (Republished 1976 by EP Publishing) Vol. 2 p. 313
Periodical Articles
- Cockin, G.M., 1906, 'The Ancient Industries of Cannock Chase' Transactions of the Burton on Trent Natural History and Archaeologial Society Vol. 5.2 p. 127 online copy
  Duignan, W.H., 1884, 'On The King's house and The Priory at Radmore, on Cannock Chase' The Midland Antiquary Vol. 3 p. 58-66

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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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