Ellesmere Town Defences
Has been described as a Questionable Urban Defence
There are no visible remains
| Name | Ellesmere Town Defences |
| Alternative Names | |
| Historic Country | Shropshire |
| Modern Authority | Shropshire |
| 1974 Authority | Shropshire |
| Civil Parish | Ellesmere Urban |
In 1258 Peter de Montfort was empowered to raise money to enable him to wall the town of Ellesmere (Eyton 1860, 240). At present there is no documentary or archaeological evidence that the defences were built. If they were in fact constructed, their location and the date at which they went out of use remains to be demonstrated. It has been suggested that in the mid-13th century Ellesmere was restricted to an area to the west of the church and that Watergate Street represents the line of the town defences (Anon 1957-60, 3). The town was quite small at this time, with only 59 burgages recorded in 1280 (Sylvester 1969, 310), but even so this seems too large a settlement to have been protected by defences on the high ground above Watergate Street and Birch Road. For the purposes of this assessment a defensive circuit following Church Street, Willow Street, and running behind St John's Street, is suggested. This is provisional, based on topographical and cartographic evidence, and should be tested archaeologically. (Dalwood and Bryant 2005)
Not scheduled
Not Listed
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SJ402348 |
| Latitude | 52.9075393676758 |
| Longitude | -2.88940000534058 |
| Eastings | 340200 |
| Northings | 334800 |
