Ludlow Town Wall

Has been described as a Certain Urban Defence

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameLudlow Town Wall
Alternative NamesLudelawe; Ludlowe; Lodelowe; Christ Croft
Historic CountryShropshire
Modern AuthorityShropshire
1974 AuthorityShropshire
Civil ParishLudlow

The medieval town wall, ditch and gates of Ludlow, which were built between 1233 and c1304, thus postdating the laying out of the planned medieval town itself (and indeed excluding parts of it). The remains are fragmentary, but the course of the defences remains visible.

Murage grants for the upkeep of walls were documented in 1294 and 1309. The town ditch was in existence in 1691 when there was still a drawbridge over it at Broad Gate. However, there was a cottage in the ditch. The town defences follow the same alignments as property boundaries and clearly post-date the layout of the properties. The town defences were owned by the Corporation from 1461 and by the 16th century the ditch was leased for limepits, gardens and small houses.

Construction of the town defences began in 1233 and continued until 1304. The wall was fronted by a ditch, now largely infilled. The ditch is now marked by curving property boundaries.

The height and thickness of Ludlow's town walls was not comparable to other fortified towns such as Shrewsbury. They appear to have acted more as features controlling access into the town than real defensive structures. The construction is usually of rubble sandstone rather than ashlar as is generally seen elsewhere. A recording exercise on the rear boundary wall of the old Museum Stores in Old Street established that the lower part of the wall could be part of the medieval town wall, though it could also be a post medieval rebuild on the same line. (Shropshire HER)

The first murage grant was received in 1233. The fourteenth-century building accounts suggest that although murage was being levied, it was not spent on the walls. (Turner)

Gatehouse Comments

The walls are built mainly of the local bedrock, a somewhat friable grey calcareous siltstone (Rosenbaum 2007), and were not particular thick. As a consequence the walls are particularly subject to collapse and have done so in several places along the surviving circuit in the recent very wet years. The circuit is far from complete, although about two thirds does survive, and earlier collapses must have happened. The surprise may be that so much of the wall does survive.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSO512743
Latitude52.3652191162109
Longitude-2.71795988082886
Eastings351200
Northings274300
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Keith D Lilley, 2017, 'The Norman Conquest and its influences on urban landscapes' in Dawn M Hadley and Christopher Dyer, The Archaeology of the 11th Century Continuities and Transformations (Routledge) p. 30-56
  • Salter, Mike, 2013, Medieval Walled Towns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 98-9
  • Newman, John, 2006, Buildings of England: Shropshire (Yale University Press Pevsner Architectural Guides) p. 352 (plan), 373, 381
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p. 18, 24, 29, 67, 92, 240, 265
  • Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 58
  • Shoesmith, R., 2000, 'Ludlow Town' in Shoesmith, R. and Johnson, A. (eds), Ludlow Castle: Its History and Buildings (Almeley: Logaston Smith)
  • Train, C., 1999, The Walls and Gates of Ludlow (Ludlow Research Papers 1)
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 214
  • Faraday, M.A., 1991, Ludlow 1085-1660: a social, economic and political history (Chichester: Phillimore)
  • Conzen, M.R.G., 1988, 'Morphogenesis, Morphogenetic Regions, and Secular Human Agency in the Historic Townscape, as Exemplified by Ludlow' in Dietrich Denecke and Gareth Shaw (eds), Urban Historical Geography (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 253–272.
  • 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. 436
  • Lloyd, D., 1979, Broad Street: its houses and residents through eight centuries (Ludlow Research Paper 3)
  • Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) The plans and topography of medieval towns in England and Wales (CBA Research Report 14) p. 57-71 plan p. 63 download/view online
  • Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p. 207
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co) p. 241-2
  • Eyton, R.W., 1857, Antiquities of Shropshire (London: John Russell Smith) Vol. 5 p. 279- (borough history) online copy

Antiquarian

  • Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 386, 393
  • Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1908, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 2 p. 76-8 online copy

Journals

  • Rosenbaum, Michael, 2007, 'The building stones of Ludlow: a walk through the town' Proceedings of the Shropshire Geological Society Vol. 12 p. 5-38 online copy
  • Creighton, Oliver, 2006, ''Castles of Communities': Medieval Town Defences in England; Wales and Gascony' Château Gaillard Vol. 22 p. 75-86
  • Anon, 2005, 'Ludlow Town Walls' Castle Studies Group Newsletter Vol. 7 p. 6
  • Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 116 p. 71-132
  • Weyman, H.T., 1923-24, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society p. 244-57
  • Hope, W.H.St John, 1908-9, 'The ancient topography of the town of Ludlow, in the county of Salop' Archaeologia Vol. 61 p. 383-8

Primary Sources

  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1891-1916, Calendar of Patent Rolls (1232-47) p. 35; (1258-1266) p. 83; (1266-1272) p. 15; p. 612; (1272-1281) p. 367; (1281-1291) p. 159; p. 347; (1292-1301) p. 75; p. 415; (1301-1307) p. 230; (1307-1313) p. 183; p. 518; (1313-1317) p. 672; (1327-1330) p. 14; (1327-1330) p. 443; (1343-1345) p. 226; (1350-1354) p. 40; (1354-1358) p. 155; (1361-1364) p. 14; (1367-1370) p. 226; (1377-1381) p. 448; (1389-1392) p. 4; (1396-1399) p. 176; (1399-1401) p. 444; (1405-1408) p. 388; (1422-1429) p. 105; p. 333; (1429-1436) p. 498 (murage grants)
  • - < >Also see the Gatehouse murage pages for full details of murage [grants > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/murindex.html], [petitions > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/mupindex.html ] and [other such > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/muaindex.html]. < >

Other

  • Historic England, 2016, Heritage at Risk West Midlands Register 2016 (London: Historic England) p. 15 online copy
  • Historic England, 2015, Heritage at Risk West Midlands Register 2015 (London: Historic England) p. 15 online copy
  • English Heritage, 2014, Heritage at Risk Register 2014 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 16 online copy
  • English Heritage, 2013, Heritage at Risk Register 2013 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 14 online copy
  • < >Haslam, J., forthcoming, A reassessment of the layout and planning of two twelfth-century towns – Ludlow and Bridgnorth, Shropshire. online draft < >
  • English Heritage, 2012, Heritage at Risk Register 2012 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 28 online copy
  • English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 27 online copy
  • English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 27 online copy
  • English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 37 online copy
  • Dalwood, H. and Bryant, V. (eds), 2005, The Central Marches Historic Towns Survey 1992-6 Download online copy
  • Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1988, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 33775 (28/03/1988)