Monument Type(s):

• TOWER (13th century to 15th century - 1200 AD to 1499 AD)
• TOWN WALL (13th century to 15th century - 1200 AD to 1499 AD)

Summary

This site represents: a tower of medieval date, a town wall of medieval date.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA1996 - 1960 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA3752 - 1963 WB on construction of Woolworths by Philip Barker
• ESA7590 - 2015 Conservation management survey of the town walls, Shrewsbury, by SCAS

Description

Behind and beneath the Raven (Hotel) Garage are the substantial remains of a tower which was 40ft long and survives to a height of 17ft. It is built of coursed and roughly squared sandstone rubble with a batter of 6ins in a rise of six feet on the west (NW) and (SW) walls. The north (NE) wall had a similar batter which has been cut back at the return. The west face projects about 1ft 6ins beyond the face of the adjacent thin wall of re-used sandstone rubble which are much later. The tower on its south side projected about 16ft in front of the town wall Although the exact course of the wall hereabouts is no visible, it seems that the tower was on a small salient <1a>
The Raven Hotel has been demolished. Sandstone retaining walls remain at SJ4928 1273. They are constructed as described by Smith. There is no conclusive evidence that the remains form part of a tower. They may be retaining walls to early buildings. OS FI 1960 <1>

NBR photos in SRRC collection [<2>] show the 'bastion' much as described (above) by J T Smith, built of coursed, fairly thin sandstone rubble blocks with substantial side-alternate ashlar quoins and a pronounced batter. The suggestion that this structure stood on a salient projecting from the Pride Hill-Castle Street escarpment is supported by observations of natural immediately below the modern surface to the north, in Raven Meadows (sites 60258, 60262, 60267), suggesting that the slope has been cut/terraced back at this point <3>

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/stretch of wall is identified as 3f and h. <4>

<00> Shropshire County Council SMR, Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards, SMR Card for PRN SA 01461 (Card index). SSA20722.

<01ai> Anon, 1901, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society, p32 (note) (Volume). SSA5674.

<01a> Smith J T, 1953, Shrewsbury: Topography and Domestic Architecture to the Middle of the 17th Century, p108-109 (Manuscript). SSA4160.

<01> Ordnance Survey, 1960, Ordnance Survey Record Card SJ41SE47.18 (Card index). SSA5590.

<02> Mason G B, 1961, Photos (Photograph). SSA10633.

<03> Baker Nigel J, UAD Analysis, 17/06/1997 (SMR comment). SSA20432.

<04> Hannaford Hugh R, 2015, Shrewsbury Town Walls: a conservation management plan (2 volumes), Gazetteer 3f/3h (Management report). SSA28223.

Sources

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