Scheduled Monument: A well-preserved example of a Norman motte (earthwork castle), which is of particular interest because of its proximity to St Peter's Church, a Saxon foundation.
Almost circular mount with a slightly concave summit. it is 140ft diameter with a surrounding ditch nearly 30ft wide, very shallow except on the NW where it is 5ft deep with a 2ft revetment <1a>
In 'Bury Field', on a slightly elevated ridge north-east of the church, is an almost circular motte, 10ft high with a slightly concave summit 140ft in diameter. It is surrounded by a ditch nearly 30ft wide, which is very worn and shallow except on the north-west where it is 5ft deep with a 2ft revetment. "Palmer's meadow seems to have signs of outer court". <1b>
The motte is 3.2m high on the east and 2.3m high on the NW, where bank 1.2m high on inside and 0.9m high on the outside, forms a ditch. No trace of a bailey. OS FI 1971 <1>
The OS Antiquity Model marks the site as a ringwork, but there seems to be no justification for this. I Burrow comment 29/10/76. The site is basically as described by the VCH and the OS, with a dilapidated building on the top. There are slight indications of a much spread bank around the edge of the top of the motte, but it precise character is difficult to asses. No apparent bailey, though earthworks are present in the field to the east. I Burrow FI 1977 <7>
Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Low score as one of 46 Motte and Bailey castles. <15>
Scheduling revised in 2000. Scheduling description: ->
-> The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a motte castle, situated to the north east of St Peter's Church. The church was founded in the Anglo-Saxon period but altered following the Norman Conquest. The castle mound occupies sloping ground, falling away in all directions except to the south west. From this position there are extensive views of Ape Dale and the surrounding uplands. The mound is oval in plan, approximately 44m by 58m at its base and about 38m by 48m across its top. The eastern part is steep-sided and stands up to 4m high. In order to create a flat top the south western portion of the mound has only been slightly raised, about O.5m, above the level of the surrounding ground. A ditch, averaging 5m wide, surrounds the mound. It is most evident on the western and northern sides where it is bounded by a counters carp bank, about 8m wide. Much of the rest of the ditch has been filled in, but will survive as a buried feature. The south eastern portion of this ditch has been substantially modified by modern landscaping, and as a consequence is not included in the scheduling. The counters carp bank has been truncated by the creation of a pond to the north east and farm buildings to the south west. ->
-> There are a number of features which are excluded from the scheduling: these are the concrete base of the former hen house built on top of the motte, the water trough, all fences, gates and a stile although the ground beneath all these features is included. <16>
Photographed during aerial survey 2008-2010. <18>-<20>
The motte and part of its surrounding ditch are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and have been mapped by RCHME's Marches Uplands Mapping Project. Although no trace of a bailey was seen during field investigation, curvilinear fragments of a ditch and bank on the east side of the motte (MUMP 376/6/3) were also identified during the aerial photographic mapping survey. These features may possibly indicate the remains of a bailey. MUMP also mapped a feature to the SE which was interpreted as a bank of the bailey (MUMP 376/6/4).NMR SO 5191/3-4 04-MAR-1988. <21><21a><21b>
| [00] | SSA20722 - Card index: Shropshire County Council SMR. Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards. SMR record cards. SMR Card for PRN SA 01254. |
| [01a] | SSA178 - Volume: Victoria County History. 1908. Victoria County History 1. Victoria County History of Shropshire. Vol 1. p387. |
| [01c] | SSA31554 - Site visit report: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. Various. NRHE: Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F1 DRB 04-MAY-71. |
| [01b] | SSA31561 - Vertical aerial photograph: Historic England / RAF. c.1946-1955. NRHE: RAF Aerial Photographs held by Historic England Archive. Black and white. RAF 541/550 3053-54, 04-JUN-1950. |
| [01] | SSA5169 - Card index: Ordnance Survey. 1971. Ordnance Survey Record Card SO59SW2. Ordnance Survey record cards. SO59SW2. |
| [02] | SSA17338 - Oblique aerial photograph: Cambridge University Collection of Air Photos (CUCAP). 1949-Jul-26. CUCAP EO64. Black and white. |
| [03] | SSA17339 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1987-Jan-03. CPAT 87/MB/0110. Black and White. Medium. |
| [04] | SSA17340 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1984-Dec-11. CPAT 84/38/0021. |
| [05] | SSA17341 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1988-Mar-04. CPAT 88/04/0012. |
| [06] | SSA5172 - Field Monument Warden Report: Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (HBMC). Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 20814. |
| [07] | SSA5173 - Site visit report: Burrow Ian. 1977-Oct-13. Visit Notes, 13/10/1977. |
| [08] | SSA17342 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1988-Mar-04. CPAT 88/MB/0084 to 0085 (2 photos). Black and White. Medium. |
| [09] | SSA5171 - Photograph: Watson Michael D. 1984. Rushbury Motte. Colour. |
| [10] | SSA17343 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-05. CPAT 92/MB/0452 to 0453 (2 photos). Black and White. Medium. |
| [11] | SSA17344 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-05. CPAT 92/C/0803 to 0804 (2 photos). Colour. 35mm. |
| [12] | SSA17345 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-05. CPAT 92/MC11/0002 to 0003 (2 photos). Colour. Medium. |
| [13] | SSA5170 - Scheduled Monument notification: Department of the Environment (DoE). 1972. Map of Scheduled area, 1972. |
| [14] | SSA17346 - Oblique aerial photograph: Barret Gill. 1991. Barret Gill, Oblique View, 1991: 91/02/G/01-03 (Colour slide). Colour. |
| [15] | SSA20084 - TEXT: Horton Wendy B. 1990/ 1991. MPP Evaluation File. |
| [16] | SSA21309 - Scheduled Monument notification: English Heritage. 2000. Scheduling Papers (Revised Scheduling, 14/03/2000). 32328. |
| [17] | SSA21636 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1999-Jul-26. CPAT 99/MB/0532 to 0533 (2 photos). Black and White. Medium. |
| [17a] | SSA27654 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1999-Jul-26. CPAT 99/C/0671 to 99/C/0672 (2 Photos). Colour. Medium. |
| [18] | SSA26064 - Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-8. SA1005_289 to SA1005_290 (2 photos) Flight: 10_SA_05. Colour. Digital. |
| [19] | SSA25905 - Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2009-Mar-20. SA0906_307 to SA0906_308 (2 photos) Flight: 09_SA_06. Colour. Digital. |
| [20] | SSA25293 - Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2008-Jan-6. SA0801_069 to SA0801_075 (7 photos) Flight: 08_SA_01. Colour. Digital. |
| [21a] | SSA22521 - Database file: National Monuments Record (NMR). 1993/ 1994. Marches Uplands Mapping Project (MUMP) MORPH records (2006 version). Marches Uplands Survey. 376/6/3; 376/6/4. |
| [21] | SSA31555 - COLLECTION: Historic England. 2020 onwards. NRHE: National Record of the Historic Environment. HOB UID 111508. |
| [21b] | SSA31561 - Vertical aerial photograph: Historic England / RAF. c.1946-1955. NRHE: RAF Aerial Photographs held by Historic England Archive. Black and white. NMR SO 5191/3-4 04-MAR-1988; RAF CPE/UK/2480 4474-5 10-MAR-1948. |