Monument Type(s):

• CASTLE? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1540 AD?)
• HOLLOW WAY? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• TRACKWAY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

Hollow way of a former track of probable medieval date. Has been suggested as a ditch, possibly related to a castle site of probable medieval date - no further evidence found for this interpretation.

Related records: None recorded

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA3165 - 1983 field observation at Castle Hill, Bletchley, by Shropshire County Council

Description

The field immediately to the W of Bletchley Manor was recorded as Castle Hill on the 1840 Tithe Award Map. It is a natural hill overlooking the Bailey Brook to the W, and appears to have been roughly circular before the N half of the top of the hill was cut away by the realignment of the A41. It does, however, appear to have been artificially modified and altered, particularly on its S side, where a natural gully running from the valley bottom up the side of the hill has been continued and widened so as to form an artificial ditch cutting off the top of the hill from the adjacent ground to the S and E. This ditch is up to c 1m deep and 4m wide, but both narrows and shallows at its E end where it curves round with only a slight inner scarp surviving. This ditch may have served as a defensive feature for the hilltop, whose natural slopes would have proved sufficient on its W side. All trace of it to the N has gone due to the new road cutting. It may represent the remnants of a former earthwork castle site, perhaps the predecessor of adjacent Bletchley Manor. However, the surviving portion of the hilltop does not show any further traces of fortification or habitation, and the line of the ditch is shown as a trackway on the TA map. It could therefore simply be the holloway of a former track. M Watson FI. 1983 <1>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Medium score as one of 15 Medieval Trackways. <3>

<00> Shropshire County Council SMR, Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards, SMR Card for PRN SA 03690 (Card index). SSA20722.

<01> Watson Michael D, 1983, Visit Notes, 1983 (Site visit report). SSA8935.

<02> Anon, 1988, Castle Hill, Bletchley (Photograph). SSA8934.

<03> Horton Wendy B, 1990/ 1991, MPP Evaluation File (TEXT). SSA20084.

Sources

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