Scheduled Monument: A well preserved example of a medieval (or late Saxon) ringwork and bailey (a stronghold defended by a bank and a ditch).
Earthwork occupies the summit of a prominent knoll. Now exists as an oval platform up to 1.7m in height, 34m NW/SE by 27m NE/SW. Faint trace of surrounding ditch. The surrounding ground is arable and no trace of the DMV survives. OS FI 1971 <1><1a>
Hamlet of Berelawe (PRN 03971) which Eyton records in C13 can be identified with this ringwork near Westbury Station. Fields surrounding the site on 1840 TA map were called Briarleys, a name which survives locally to the present day. <4><5>
A ringwork forming one of a group of castles guarding the Long Mountain - Breiddin gap. It measures about 110ft. by 90ft. with a scarp 6ft. high at the best. Most of the bank has gone, probably thrown down to fill up the ditch. <7>
Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, High score as one of 20 Ringworks. <10>
Scheduling revised in 1995. Scheduling description: ->
-> The monument includes the remains of a small ringwork and bailey castle situated on the summit of a prominent knoll. The ringwork is roughly oval in plan with overall dimensions of 44m NW-SE by 24m transversely. It has been formed by scarping the hilltop to form a flat topped platform up to 1.6m above the surrounding land, with faint traces of a surrounding ditch 3m wide and 0.1m deep. The earthwork remains of a bailey enclosure lie attached to the north side of the ringwork. The bailey is defined around its west and north sides as a low scarp 0.5m high formed by cutting back the hillslope. The eastern side of the bailey can no longer be recognised as a surface earthwork, but will survive as a buried feature. The hamlet of Berelawe recorded in the 13th century has been identified with the site and the field surrounding the monument was named on a map of 1840 as the Briarleys. The ringwork and bailey .. survives well and .. appears largely undisturbed. <11>
Photographed during aerial survey in 2008 and 2010. <13><14>
The earthwork remains of the Medieval ringwork and bailey described by the previous authorities was seen at SJ 3425 1077 and mapped from aerial photographs. The site was masked by trees enabling only a small part of the site to be mapped. <15>
| [00] | SSA20722 - Card index: Shropshire County Council SMR. Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards. SMR record cards. SMR Card for PRN SA 01082. |
| [01a] | SSA31554 - Site visit report: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. Various. NRHE: Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F1 DRB 09-AUG-71. |
| [01] | SSA4074 - Card index: Ordnance Survey. 1971. Ordnance Survey Record Card SJ31SW2. Ordnance Survey record cards. SJ31SW2. |
| [02] | SSA17048 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1986-Jan-03. CPAT 86/02/0005. |
| [03a] | SSA178 - Volume: Victoria County History. 1908. Victoria County History 1. Victoria County History of Shropshire. Vol 1. p382. |
| [03] | SSA4078 - Field Monument Warden Report: Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (HBMC). 1983. Scheduled Monument Reports on SAMs 13502 and 14324. |
| [04] | SSA1228 - Article in serial: Lawson J B. 1965. Article in Shropshire Newsletter. Shropshire News. No 28. p2. |
| [05] | SSA2162 - Monograph: Eyton R W. 1854/ 1860. Antiquities of Shropshire. p170-171. |
| [06] | SSA1126 - Volume: Gaydon A T (ed). 1968. Victoria County History 8: Condover and Ford Hundreds. Victoria County History of Shropshire. Vol 8. p195, p296, p305. |
| [07] | SSA4084 - Article in serial: Spurgeon C J & King D J C. 1965. The Mottes in the Vale of Montgomery. Archaeologia Cambrensis. Vol 114. p81-82. |
| [08] | SSA4077 - Photograph: Anon. Ringwork Brerlowe. Colour. |
| [09] | SSA4075 - Scheduled Monument notification: English Heritage. Map of Scheduled area. |
| [10] | SSA20084 - TEXT: Horton Wendy B. 1990/ 1991. MPP Evaluation File. |
| [11] | SSA4076 - Scheduled Monument notification: English Heritage. 1995. Scheduling Papers (Revised Scheduling, 20/11/1995). 19234. |
| [12] | SSA22535 - Monograph: Watson Michael D. 2002. Shropshire An Archaeological Guide. p61-62. |
| [13] | SSA25236 - Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2008-Dec-3. SA0813_100 to SA0813_103 (4 photos) Flight: 08_SA-13. Colour. Digital. |
| [14] | SSA26068 - Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Jan-7. SA1001_001 to SA1001_004 (4 photos) Flight: 10_SA_01. Colour. Digital. |
| [15a] | SSA31561 - Vertical aerial photograph: Historic England / RAF. c.1946-1955. NRHE: RAF Aerial Photographs held by Historic England Archive. Black and white. RAF 106G/UK/1698/2031-2 27-AUG-1946. |
| [15] | SSA31570 - COLLECTION: Historic England. 1993-1994. NRHE: RCHME: Marches Uplands NMP. MU.424.3. |