Worcester siege castle, West Bank

Has been described as a Possible Siege Work

There are no visible remains

NameWorcester siege castle, West Bank
Alternative NamesHenwick's Hill; King Stephen's Mount
Historic CountryWorcestershire
Modern AuthorityWorcestershire
1974 AuthorityHereford and Worcester
Civil ParishWorcester

Siegework, one of two forts supposedly built by King Stephen during a siege of Worcester Castle.

According to Eaton, 'two mounds, one on Henwicke Hill and one on part of Red Hill near Diglis were raised by Stephen to besiege the castle, which was held by the Earl of Mellent

Gatehouse Comments

Worcester Castle and city were attacked on several occasions and besieged In 1151 and again in 1264 (and in the C17 English Civil War). However, because siege castles were recorded for the 1151 siege all possible siege mounds get ascribed to 1151. The Worcestershire and Worcester City HER locates this at SO837560, which was the approximate location of Henwick hamlet but suspects Henwick Hill was south of this nearer to the main road and medieval bridge. Henwick Hill does not appear on early maps and can not have been a large feature.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSO837560
Latitude52.1983985900879
Longitude-2.23989009857178
Eastings383700
Northings255600
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 508 (only records 2 siege castle)
  • Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol. 2 (London) p. 494 online copy
  • Anon, 1829, A Concise History and description of the City and Cathedral of Worcester (Worcester: T Eaton) p. 23 online copy

Journals

  • Beardsmore, C., 1980, 'Documentary evidence for the history of Worcester's city defences' Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society (ser3) Vol. 7 p. 53-64