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
• ESA4716 - 2000 evaluation of 58-59 Mardol, Shrewbury by Marches Archaeology
• ESA4825 - 2001 Building analysis and WB at 58-59 Mardol, Shrewsbury by Marches Archaeology (Ref: Marches MVS00A)
• ESA5732 - 2003 WB on land to rear of 60 Mardol, Shrewsbury by Marches Archaeology (Ref: Marches MSS03a)
• ESA7590 - 2015 Conservation management survey of the town walls, Shrewsbury, by SCAS

Description

Town wall line, parallel to and north of Mardol, from the 1958-9 Roushill excavation site [see PRN 62400] to the Welsh Bridge [PRN 01471]. The existence of the wall on this line is not in doubt, though no actual direct recognition events have occurred along it. The existence and fairly precise position of the wall here can be argued from P A Barker's discovery and excavation of the wall, parallel to the street, at the south-east end of the street block [<1>], and from the present ground contours that appear to reflect the line of the infilled town ditch outside it; the wall line can also be tentatively reconstructed from the 1882 1st edition O. S. 1:500 plan, showing up as a discontinuous building line passing through the neighbouring properties. J A Morris and R E Davies sought and mapped the wall here in 1913 (map now lost), and discovered foundations and fabric which, they claimed, represented 'an old tower' at the rear of the King's Head, no.48 Mardol [PRN 60181] [<2>]. Davies had also claimed (in 1911) that there was a section of masonry preserved 'in the ironmonger's warehouse at the top of Mason's Passage, where evidently there was a postern' [<3>]: this appears to refer to masonry of town wall type, but probably salvaged, near the probable wall line in the 16th-century outbuilding behind 51-2 Mardol. Demolition This section of wall is absent from the Burghley Map and must have been largely demolished by the later 16th century, arguably because it was not a structural retaining wall, and interrupted movement within the series of properties or plots through which it had been built: it may possibly have been in decline soon after c.1400, when building upon the town wall in pride Hill and Castle Street first seems to have been permitted (see Rigg's Hall) [<4>]. <5>

Archaeological work took place in 2000 at 58-59 Mardol. The report discusses Barker's previous work at 62-63 Mardol [see PRN 62400] [<1>], picking up his suggestion that the clay bank located by him at 62-63 Mardol might have been an earlier feature (rather than merely a 13th century wall footing) although all other signs of earlier activity had been obliterated by the construction of the wall. The wall at the point excavated by Barker was 1.37m thick and he postulated an original height of up to 6m. Dating evidence came from silt, peat and dump layers which had built up against the front of the wall and included material from as early as c1230. Dumping continued in the second half of the 14th century, but the material was earth and rubble rather than peat, and during the 15th century, houses began to be built across the wall line [<1>]. The 2000 report also notes the similarities between the pattern here and that at other town wall excavations in Shrewsbury. ->

-> The work which took place in 2000 revealed the lower courses of the 13th century town wall in Trench A. The wall was of a similar appearance to that at 62-63 Mardol [<1>], consisting of substantial ashlar blocks with a chamfered plinth on the east face. There were 18th century and later dumps overlying the remains of the medieval wall, and no direct evidence was recovered of the demolition date of the wall at this point (though it was obviously prior to the 18th century) <6>

Further to the evaluation (<6>), a watching brief was carried out on external works at 58-59 Mardol, as well as internal works in association with stabilisation of the building. The wall was not further encountered. <7>

A watching brief to the rear of 60 Mardol in 2003 observed several courses of the town wall. At this point it was 1.64m wide, somewhat wider than at 60-63 Mardol (the reason for this was not clear). The wall was faced with pink sandstone blocks, with blue sandstone forming the rear of the wall. The chamfered plinth was not observed, but was presumed to exist at a lower level. <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 stretch is identified as 5c. ->

-> 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 (<6><7>) 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. <9>

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

<02> Morris J A, 1927/ 1928, The King's Head Inn and Town Walls in Mardol, Shrewsbury (Article in serial). SSA10376.

<03> Davies R E, 1909/ 1912, Town Walls of Shrewsbury, p186 (Article in serial). SSA5571.

<04> Baker Nigel J et al, 1993, Further Work on Pride Hill, Shrewsbury (Article in serial). SSA4148.

<05> Baker Nigel J, UAD Analysis, 17/01/1997 (SMR comment). SSA20432.

<06> Stone Richard, 2000, 58-59 Mardol, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: a Report on an evaluation excavation and building assessment (Archaeological fieldwork report). SSA20384.

<07> Stone Richard, 2001, 58-59 Mardol, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: a Report on a Programme of Archaeological Works (Archaeological fieldwork report). SSA20837.

<08> Nash A F, 2004, Land at the rear of 60 Mardol, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: a report on a watching brief (Watching brief report). SSA21615.

<09> Hannaford Hugh R, 2015, Shrewsbury Town Walls: a conservation management plan (2 volumes), Gazetteer 5c (Management report). SSA28223.

Sources

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