Tutbury Town Defences (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Iron Walls

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SK21112910
Latitude 52.85904° Longitude -1.68795°

Tutbury Town Defences has been described as a probable Urban Defence.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Probably embanked as a dependency of castle. Had gates and barriers. Bond records possible Anglo-Saxon earthworks which he puts in his 'of no post-Conquest significance' list.

There is reason to believe that Tutbury had been fortified previous to this reign; for frequent mention is made in the records of those times of the bars (MSS. in Duchy Office) or barriers, and of the gates of the town, and traces are still visible of a vallum and foss, extending from the little park below the castle, completely round the town, to the Fleam or Old Dove, which washes the base of the castle hill on the opposite side: (A part of this fortification still bears the name of Iron Walls, but on what account is not known) if the whole of this area has been covered with buildings, the place must have been much more populous than it is at present; and that it was so, is rendered very probable from the traditionary accounts of its former size, as well as from the fact of many streets being mentioned in ancient writings, the very sites of which are now unknown. (e.g. Dove-street, Market-street, etc. in Duchy MSS) That a great depreciation took place in the value of land in this vicinity, is ascertained from the respective surveys which were made in the reigns of Henry the Fifth and Elizabeth; and no doubt this depreciation was caused by the castle being deserted by its owners, and the town consequently declining in population and importance. (Mosley)

Domesday Book records 42 traders in burgo circa castellum; there are clear traces of a small settlement enclosure to the south of the motte and bailey. (Bond, 2001)

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 02356.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2013, Medieval Walled Towns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 157 (mention)
  Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p. 266
  Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report 61) p. 92-116 online copy
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 454
  Wheatley, P., 1954, 'Stafffordshire' in H.C. Darby and I.B. Terrett, The Domesday Geography of Medieval England p. 207
  Mosley, O., 1832, History of the Castle, Priory and Town of Tutbury (London: Simpkin and Marshall) p. 125-6 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Creighton, Oliver, 2006, ''Castles of Communities': Medieval Town Defences in England; Wales and Gascony' Château Gaillard Vol. 22 p. 75-86
  Bond J., 2001, 'Earthen Castles, Outer Enclosures and the Earthworks at Ascott d'Oilly Castle, Oxfordshire' Oxoniensia Vol. 46 p. 65-6 (Appendix: Norman earthwork castles with failed towns in outer enclosures) online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- 1086, Domesday Book online copy

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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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