Monument Type(s):

• TOWER (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• TOWN WALL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• POSTERN? (14th century to 16th century - 1350 AD? to 1540 AD?)

Summary

The angle tower of the Lower Claremont Bank section of the town walls (PRN 62563), where it turns sharply to the SW. Suggested as having become a postern gate in the late medieval period. It was recorded in the 1920s and re-exposed through excavation in 1997.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA1995 - 1960 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA4908 - 1996 DBA and buildings assessment of land between Victoria Avenue and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury by Richard K Morriss & Associates
• ESA4905 - 1997 evaluation of land at St Austin's Friars and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury by SCCAS
• ESA7303 - 1998 site visit to St Austin's Friars and Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury by SCCAS
• ESA7590 - 2015 Conservation management survey of the town walls, Shrewsbury, by SCAS

Description

Sited to SJ4883 1267 from plaque on present Morris's Bakery. Covered by concrete yard. OS FI 1960 <1>

Base of a circular redstone tower found in 1922 at the corner of St Austin's Court. Mentioned in 1744 as at bottom of Barker St at an angle to the town wall, and demolished at this time. <2>

A two-storey semi-circular tower described as a short distance beyond the Austin's Friars is illustrated and shown on a view of the town of 1739. <3>

First reported in 1920-21 by J A Morris, when excavations for new buildings exposed the base of the tower, previously covered by a cottage 'built in the corner of St Austin's Court'. The tower was circular, of red sandstone, and said by Morris to have foundations that went 'down to the original level of the site' [<2>]. JAM also identified it as the ruinous tower at the bottom of Barker Street, approached via a property bought by the Wardens of St Chad's for a Jersey (Work) House in 1744, when the parish obtained permission to demolish it and 'make use of some of the stone' [<2>]. Some at least of the stone may have been re-used in the superincumbent cottages demolished in 1920-1, as these appear on JAM's 1905 MS plan as '2 cottages for the most part built of stone- probably on the site of the old wall' [<4>]. The tower was encountered again in SCCAU evaluation trench C in 1997. See [<8>]. <5>

Plotted on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map by Richard K Morriss from J A Morris' notes. Marked as base of tower, found c.1922. <6>

A programme of archaeological evaluation, comprising three trial trenches was undertaken at St Austin's Friars and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury. Remains associated with the tower were encountered in trench C. A medieval wall was recorded immediately underlying the concrete yard surface. This wall may belong to the angle tower itself or to a structure on its southern side. The wall had been cut into ground that was sloping down towards the course of the stream, and a sequence of stratified medieval and post-medieval deposits was seen to have accumulated on this slope and against the face of the sandstone wall. Abutting onto the south face of the wall were the possible remains of the section of the town wall which is thought to have run southwards from the angle tower towards the site of Romaldesham Gate at the junction of the modern St Austin's Friars and Claremont Bank roads (see PRN 62563). The angle tower in the town wall is thought to have become a postern gate in the later medieval period giving access to the land between the town walls and the river. The angle-tower was reduced in the post-medieval period and a number of cottages, some built of stone no doubt salvaged from the tower and town wall, were erected on this part of the site. A foundation wall of post-medieval date possibly belonging to one of these cottages, was seen at the eastern end of trench C. <7>

More of the southeastern side of the tower was exposed during a site visit on 25th June 1998 during ongoing work on the site. <8>

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 tower is identified as 6d. <9>

<00> Shropshire County Council SMR, Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards, SMR Card for PRN SA 01460 (Card index). SSA20722.

<01> Ordnance Survey, 1960, Ordnance Survey Record Card SJ41SE47.17 (Card index). SSA5589.

<02> Morris J A, 1920/ 1921, The Old Tower, St Austin's Friars, pv-vi (Article in serial). SSA10666.

<03> Anon, 1881, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society, p113 (and illus) (Volume). SSA1838.

<04> Bird A J, 1966, Map annotation by OS Correspondent (Map annotation). SSA10834.

<05> Baker Nigel J, UAD Analysis (SMR comment). SSA20432.

<06> Morriss Richard K, 1996, The Welsh Bridge Development, Shrewsbury: an Archaeological Desk-top Study, fig.7; p.21 (Deskbased survey report). SSA10661.

<07> Hannaford Hugh R, 1997, An archaeological evaluation at St Austin's Friars and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury, Trench C (Excavation report). SSA20919.

<08> Hannaford Hugh R, 1998, St Austin's Friars and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury (notes on a site visit) (Site visit report). SSA27280.

<09> Hannaford Hugh R, 2015, Shrewsbury Town Walls: a conservation management plan (2 volumes), Gazetteer 6d (Management report). SSA28223.

Sources

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