Bretchel; The Beacon
Has been described as a Certain Timber Castle (Motte)
There are earthwork remains
| Name | Bretchel; The Beacon |
| Alternative Names | |
| Historic Country | Shropshire |
| Modern Authority | Shropshire |
| 1974 Authority | Shropshire |
| Civil Parish | Alberbury With Cardeston |
The motte castle south west of Bretchel survives well and is a good example of its class. It will retain archaeological information relating to its construction and occupation. Environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which it was constructed will survive sealed on the old land surface beneath the motte and in the ditch fill. Such motte castles, when considered either as single monuments or as a part of a broader landscape, contribute valuable information concerning the settlement pattern, economy and social structure of the countryside during the medieval period.
The monument includes the remains of a small motte castle situated on the summit of a small hill overlooking, to the south, the main east to west valley routeway between Shrewsbury and Welshpool. It includes a small, steep sided castle mound, or motte, of earth and rubble construction, roughly circular in plan with a base diameter of 15m. The motte summit stands 3m above the surrounding natural land surface and has a diameter of approximately 8m. A ditch, from which material for the construction of the mound was quarried, remains visible as a slight surface depression 3m wide and 0.1m deep surrounding the motte. (Scheduling Report)
The Beacon at Bretchel is a very small motte with traces of a ditch, but none of a bailey. It is about 25ft across its damaged top by 8-10ft high (Spurgeon and King)
As described by Spurgeon and King, although all traces of a ditch have now gone. OS FI 1971 (Ordnance Survey Record Card 1977)
Small rectangular bailey visible as cropmark attached to SE side of motte. Possible entrance on its E side. The motte ditch also shows as a cropmark (Field Monument Warden Report 1986). (Shropshire HER)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
Not Listed
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SJ336118 |
| Latitude | 52.6999702453613 |
| Longitude | -2.98358011245728 |
| Eastings | 333630 |
| Northings | 311820 |
