Bromlow Castle Mound

Has been described as a Certain Timber Castle (Motte)

There are earthwork remains

NameBromlow Castle Mound
Alternative NamesVillage Farm
Historic CountryShropshire
Modern AuthorityShropshire
1974 AuthorityShropshire
Civil ParishWorthen With Shelve

The motte castle 50m north of Village Farm, Worthen survives well and is a good example of its class. It will retain archaeological information relating to the materials and techniques used in its construction and to the date and nature of its occupation. Environmental information relating to the landscape in which it was constructed will be preserved sealed on the old land surface within the motte and in the ditch fill. Such motte castles provide valuable information concerning the settlement pattern and social organisation of the countryside during the medieval period. Worthen motte is one of a series of small motte castles strategically positioned to control side valleys on the south side of the main valley pass between Shrewsbury and Montgomery. Considered as a group each contributes important information concerning the medieval management of this important routeway between England and Wales.

The monument includes a motte castle situated at the north end of a steep ridge of high ground formed between tributaries of the Rea Brook. The position of the motte has been chosen for its strategic strength overlooking the valley routeway from Shrewsbury to Montgomery which lies to the north. It includes a circular motte with a base diameter of 21m standing to a height of 4m. Where exposed the interior fabric of the motte appears to be natural rock, suggesting that an existing rock outcrop has been used as the basis for the motte. The summit of the mound has been eroded to a slightly rounded profile and has a plan diameter of 9m. The remains of a surrounding ditch are visible around the north east, west and south west sides of the motte; it averages 4m in width and 1m deep. (Scheduling Report)

The motte at Bromlow stands between 11 foot and 14 foot high from the bottom of a ditch now only 1 foot deep. It is very small with a much eroded top of about 25 ft. in diameter

There is no sign of any bailey, nor could one have disappeared in this situation without leaving substantial traces of its existence. (PastScape ref. King and Spurgeon 1965; VCH 1908)

Gatehouse Comments

The adapted natural mound is adjacent to a farm, which must occupy the residential parts of the castle. The expansion of this farm will have destroyed any defences of those buildings. Gatehouse does not agree with King that no bailey could have existed, although it is unlikely to have been substantial. This must represent the location of a farmstead, probably one of the 13 berewicks of Worthin recorded in Domesday held by an under-tenant of Roger fitz Corbet for military service (some under-tenants are named in Domesday as milites ).

- Philip Davis

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 ReferenceSJ320023
Latitude52.6142807006836
Longitude-3.00511002540588
Eastings332020
Northings302300
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 38-9
  • Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 87 (slight)
  • Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 8
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 433 (Worthen No. 2)
  • Wall (after Downham), 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol. 1 p. 389-90 (plan)
  • Eyton, R.W., 1860, Antiquities of Shropshire (London: John Russell Smith) Vol. 11 p. 95, 108 online copy

Journals

  • King, D.J.C. and Spurgeon, C.J., 1965, 'The mottes in the Vale of Montgomery' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 114 p. 72-3 (plan)
  • Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124
  • Chitty, Lily, 1949, 'Subsidiary Castle Sites West of Shrewsbury' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society Vol. 53 p. 83-90

Other

  • English Heritage, 1995, Scheduling Papers (Revision, 22/07/1995)
  • Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1987, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 33227 (20/10/1987)