Monument Type(s):

• CHAPEL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• MARKET PLACE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• ROAD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• TENEMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

This site represents: a chapel of medieval date, a tenement of medieval date, a road of medieval date, a market place of medieval date.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA7503 - 2015 Gradiometer survey at Caus Castle, Westbury, by Giles Carey
• ESA7959 - 2016 Resistivity survey at Caus Castle, Westbury by Giles Carey

Description

Market Place : Grant of weekly market 1200. Borough possibly already in place. Street System : In 1349 street named within borough and there were two gates (presumably in town defences) <1>

Tenement Plots : In 1349-58 burgage tenements. Went into decay after Black Death. Last mention of a house is in 1614. In mid C15 much of the town was burned during a rebellion of Sir Griffith Vaughan <2>

Only nine of its 33 burgages were occupied in 1540 <3>

CMHTS Record Sheet also mentions Church: St Margaret's (SA5107) <4>

CMHTS Report <5>

A programme of fluxgate gradiometer survey was undertaken in May-June 2015, within the outer bailey of Caus Castle, focused on the medieval borough associated with the castle. The aim of the survey was to evaluate the extent to which sub-surface archaeological deposits might survive associated with the borough. It was intended that this work formed a pilot evaluation of the potential of the site for further non-intrusive survey. ->

-> The results have been promising, although no clear in situ building remains/structural deposits have been identified. The main set of anomalies relate to a series of trackways, lengths of which are evident as extant holloways, running roughly NE-SW across the site. In addition, a number of weaker magnetic anomalies have been recorded, which may well represent further disturbed building material across the site, some of it potentially in situ. <6>

Further to work in 2015, in March 2016 a programme of electrical resistance survey was undertaken, again focused on the medieval borough associated with the castle. This work was carried out as part of a wider programme of investigation at the castle, supported by a small grant from the Castle Studies Trust. This comprised a programme of nested non intrusive methodologies, comprising analytical earthwork survey and photogrammetric survey. ->

-> Initial analysis of the resistivity data indicates the potential of this area of the site, with areas of discrete spreads of stonework recorded. Little of it appears to relate directly to in situ deposits. However, some anomalies were noted at the SE of the survey area which represent the most likely location for house platforms. Anomalies related to narrow ridge and furrow were recorded, running SE-NW across the survey area, indicating that this area has been subject to post-medieval agricultural activity. This accords well with the results of photogrammetry across this area, in particular. ->

-> The detailed analysis and reporting of this survey, together with discussion of the photogrammetric and analytical earthwork survey will be the subject of a further report/article. <7>

Further earthwork survey and photogrammetric survey was undertaken of the entire site of Caus Castle in March 2016. See PRN 00249. <8>

<01> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), NAR printout for Caus (Gazetteer). SSA11482.

<02> Gaydon A T (ed), 1968, Victoria County History 8: Condover and Ford Hundreds (Volume). SSA1126.

<03> Stanford S C, 1980, The Archaeology of the Welsh Marches (Monograph). SSA1841.

<04> Buteux Victoria & Dalwood Hal, 1993/ 1996, CMHTS SMR Records Shropshire: Burford to Clun, Caus 5111 (Record form). SSA19966.

<05> Buteux Victoria et al, 1996, Archaeological Assessment of Caus, Shropshire (CMHTS) (Historic landscape survey report). SSA12059.

<06> Carey Giles, 2015, Fluxgate gradiometer survey, Caus Castle, Westbury, Shropshire: pilot geophysical survey report (Geophysical survey report). SSA28055.

<07> Carey Giles, 2016, Electrical resistance survey, Caus castle, Westbury, Shropshire: interim geophysical survey report (Geophysical survey report). SSA29031.

<08> Fradley Michael and Carey Giles, 2016, Archaeo-topographical survey: Caus Castle, Westbury - a preliminary report (Geophysical survey report). SSA29350.

Sources

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