Monument Type(s):

• TOWN GATE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

The street immediately below the castle [PRN 01097] was crossed by two gates 40yds apart.The lower gate, known as Castle or North Gate, stood just below Meadow Place. It was removed some time before 1825.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA1975 - 1960 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA7590 - 2015 Conservation management survey of the town walls, Shrewsbury, by SCAS

Description

The street immediately below the castle [PRN 01097] was crossed by two gates 40yds apart: for the upper gate see PRN 01442; the lower gate, Known as Castle or North Gate, stood just below Meadow Place. Removed some time before 1825 <1a><1b>

The gate was described thus in 1808 by Owen:
Flanked with round towers and having a chamber over its pointed arch. A part of the southern tower is still (1808) standing, and in an elegant canopied niche, once within the chamber, is the figure of an angel bearing a shield with the arms of England and France quarterly. It appears from the union rose which embellishes the niche that the gate was not older than the time of Henry VII. A drawbridge was placed in front of it in the Civil War [<2>].
Known, in the state described, from various illustrations, notably J Buckler's, published in Owen & Blakeway (1825), and various MS drawings in Owen's Etchings, vol.3 (SRRC); these illustrations show that the towers were semi-circular in plan to the front (north/outside), rectangular within; one of the drawings shows the main arch as being of a pointed four-centred form. 'Topographer', writing in 1898, noted an entry in the Corporation Order Book for the demolition of the Lower Gate in February 1773 [<3>]; the south tower was retained until its demolition in 1825.
The cellars of Castle Vaults P.H. (16-17 Castle Gates) were investigated by a UAD field visit in 1996 to determine whether any of the gate structure was incorporated: while much stonework was present, it appeared to have been re-used to build a sub-structure contemporary with the (19th-C) standing building [<4>].
See also PRN 62522 for the Meadow Place town wall line, of which this gate formed a part. Ernie Jenks reports that the gate lay towards the west side of Castle Gates, and that in the ?1970s excavations by the GPO were monitored by him, contacted the gate structure, and that the interior of the west tower was cleared and recorded. Further records are awaited <5>

A conservation management plan was prepared in 2015 for the entire circuit of town walls surrounding Shrewsbury (excluding around Shrewsbury Castle at the NE corner). This provides a general historic overview of the development of the town defences, together with detailed analysis and management recommendations for individual sections (in gazetteer form in volume 2). This gate is identified as 1c. <6>

<00> Shropshire County Council SMR, Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards, SMR Card for PRN SA 01443 (Card index). SSA20722.

<01a> Davies R E, 1909/ 1912, Town Walls of Shrewsbury, p176-177 (Article in serial). SSA5571.

<01b> Hobbs J L, 1954, Street Names of Shrewsbury, p22-23 (Monograph). SSA365.

<01> Ordnance Survey, 1960, Ordnance Survey Record Card SJ41SE45.1 (Card index). SSA5572.

<02> Owen H, 1808, Some Account of the Ancient and Present State of Shrewsbury, p76 (Monograph). SSA5372.

<03> 'Topographer', 1898-Sep-09, Article in Shropshire Notes and Queries (Article in serial). SSA10636.

<04a> Baker Nigel J, 1996, SUAD Field Visit Records File (Field recording form). SSA22030.

<04> Baker Nigel J, 1996, UAD Field Visit File I (Field recording form). SSA10337.

<05> Baker Nigel J, UAD Analysis, 17/06/1997 (SMR comment). SSA20432.

<06> Hannaford Hugh R, 2015, Shrewsbury Town Walls: a conservation management plan (2 volumes), Gazetteer 1c (Management report). SSA28223.

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.