Dudston Castle Mound

Has been described as a Certain Timber Castle (Motte)

There are earthwork remains

NameDudston Castle Mound
Alternative NamesDudson
Historic CountryShropshire
Modern AuthorityShropshire
1974 AuthorityShropshire
Civil ParishChirbury With Brompton

Although the motte castle at the south end of East Dudston hamlet has been disturbed on its western and northern sides it will retain archaeological information relating to its construction and to the character of its 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 sediments of the surviving portion of the surrounding ditch. Such motte castles, when considered either as single sites or as part of a broader medieval 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 a low rise of land approximately 1km east of the Welsh border. It includes a well defined castle mound, or motte, roughly oval in plan with dimensions at base of 28m north west to south east by 20m transversely and standing up to 2.5m high. The summit of the motte is slightly rounded in profile and measures 8m by 6m. Around the south side of the motte there are the remains of a partly water-filled ditch averaging 4m wide with a counter-scarp, outer bank 0.9m high. Both the ditch and the bank would have originally continued around the remaining sides of the mound but the foundation excavations for farmbuildings and a roadway will have removed any archaeological evidence for either the bank or ditch on the west, north and east sides of the motte. (Scheduling Report)

Gatehouse Comments

A named place in the Domesday record for Earl Roger's manor of Montgomery. As such almost certainly represents the site of a house of a sub-tenant owing military service to Roger. Seems to have been held for a whole knight's fee in 1240. As with other such 'isolated' mottes this is likely to have had a timber tower on top and an undefended hall and farmstead adjacent (under the modern farm). The function of the tower on such a motte is a matter of discussion but it should be noted that in times of trouble the knightly tenant would have been expected to go to Montgomery. In practice the main function of such a tower is likely to have been a symbolic representation of knightly status of the tenant.

- 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 ReferenceSO244974
Latitude52.5693397521973
Longitude-3.11596989631653
Eastings324450
Northings297430
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 72
  • 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. 24
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 422 (Chirbury No. 5)
  • Rees, W., 1933, Historical map of South Wales and the Borders in the C14
  • Eyton, R.W., 1860, Antiquities of Shropshire (London: John Russell Smith) Vol. 11 p. 157 online copy

Journals

  • King, D.J.C. and Spurgeon, C.J., 1965, 'The mottes in the Vale of Montgomery' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 114 p. 79
  • 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
  • Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol. 33 p. 106-12
  • Chitty, Lily, 1949, 'Subsidiary Castle Sites West of Shrewsbury' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society Vol. 53 p. 83-90
  • 1906, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 6 p. 231-2
  • Clark, G.T., 1880, 'The moated mounds of the Upper Severn' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 35 p. 207-8 online copy
  • Clark, G.T., 1877, 'The moated mounds of the upper Severn' Montgomeryshire Collections Vol. 10 p. 336-7 online copy
  • 1877, Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 32 p. 160-1 (a reprint of a letter to the Times 1876 April 11 from 'C' (?Clark)) online copy

Other

  • English Heritage, 1995, Scheduling Papers (Revision, 20/11/1995)
  • Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1986, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 20086