Monument Type(s):

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

Summary

This site represents: a town wall of medieval date.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA1307 - 1958-1959 Excavation by P A Barker behind Mardol
• ESA7590 - 2015 Conservation management survey of the town walls, Shrewsbury, by SCAS

Description

13th-century town wall and clay rampart, excavated by P A Barker in 1958-9. Construction of the wall was immediately preceded by the construction of a clay bank, quarried from the probable ditch [see PRN 62406]; this clay bank is paralleled at the Rigg's Hall excavations. The wall was built against a vertical cut, and consisted of footings of mortared sandstone rubble supporting a face of sandstone ashlar, finely jointed where protected by deposit build-up from weathering, with a chamfered plinth course, stepped in conformity with the slight gradient. The footings were protected by a small bank of earth and clay piled over them, and there was a narrow rammed-cobble path along the wall line in front. The facing blocks were parallelogrammic in section, sloping backwards slightly against the wall's rubble core. On top of the clay rampart was a cobbled surface with a curved kerb and a possible post-position; the excavator suggested that this represented a path approaching access-steps to the wall-walk, possibly adjacent to the Roushill Gate [PRN 01458] [<1>]. The town wall features defined in this excavation are replicated in the demonstrably pre-15th-century sections of town wall at Pride Hill Chambers [PRN 62361] and at Rigg's Hall, where the wall fabric is stratified under identifiable later medieval buildings. The stepped, chamfered, plinth, and the red (Keele Beds) masonry of the proportions illustrated by Barker may therefore be regarded as the diagnostic characteristics of the primary 13th-century build, at least on this side of the town. <2>

An evaluation of the sources in connection with work in Mardol suggests, apparently from comments in [<1>], that the clay bank (which was 7 feet high and 30 feet wide - 2.13 x 9.14m) could conceivably represent an earlier feature, rather than being merely a footing for the 13th century wall. Barker [<1>] postulated an original wall height of 15 to 20 feet (4.5-6.0m) for the wall, which was 4 and a half feet (1.37m) thick at this point [other construction details as in <2>]. <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 stretch is identified as 5e/f/h. ->

-> Barker’s 1958-9 excavations of the town wall at Roushill <1> found that the original 13th century masonry wall was preceded by the construction of a clay bank. The wall was built against a vertical cut, and consisted of footings of mortared sandstone rubble supporting a face of sandstone ashlar, finely jointed where protected by deposit build-up from weathering, with a chamfered plinth course, stepped in conformity with the slight gradient. The wall was associated with stratified deposits with a sequence of ceramic finds. An evaluation by Marches Archaeology to the rear of 58-59 Mardol (<3>) in 2000 revealed the lower courses of the 13th century town wall. Deposits associated with the town ditch were not encountered, but the extent of tipping in the area suggested its existence below the area excavated (<3>). <4>

<01> Barker Philip A, 1960, Excavations on the Town Wall, Roushill (Article in serial). SSA10372.

<02> Baker Nigel J, UAD Analysis, 17/01/1997 (SMR comment). SSA20432.

<03> Stone Richard, 2000, 58-59 Mardol, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: a Report on an evaluation excavation and building assessment (Archaeological fieldwork report). SSA20384.

<04> Hannaford Hugh R, 2015, Shrewsbury Town Walls: a conservation management plan (2 volumes), Gazetteer 5e/f/h (Management report). SSA28223.

Sources

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