Monument Type(s):

• BURH? (Late Saxon - 800 AD to 1066 AD)
• CASTLE (Late Saxon - 800 AD to 1066 AD)
• MOTTE AND BAILEY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: Though cut into by the road, this is still a well-preserved example of a Norman motte and bailey (earthwork castle). Archaeological survival has been shown to be good, and the site is of particular interest because of its early date (it is believed to be one of the castles recorded in the Domesday Survey) and its association with the nearby Church of St Mary Magdalene.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA4324 - 1960-1961 A442 Roadworks Excavations at Quatford Castle by Philip Barker
• ESA4325 - 1976 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA4326 - 1979 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA4327 - 1954 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA4328 - 1984 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA10769 - 1830s Excavation at Quatford Castle by Smallman

Description

Oval motte c30ft high, and 60ft by 120ft diameter on top. Small bailey of c 1 acre to the E and NE. <1a>

The motte and bailey is generally as described above. The largely natural knoll forming the motte has a summit diameter of 9.0m, which has been severely mutilated by trenches running north to south, and east to west. It is 6.2m above the bottom of the ditch, which is 3.5m below the level of the bailey. The bailey is formed round an east-west ridge, and measures 85.0m from north to south and 40.0m from west east where the recently widened road runs in a cutting. Published survey (1:2500) resurveyed on MSD. <1b>

The ruins of Roger de Montgomery's palace at Quat, were still to be seen in Leland's time. (circa 1540). <2a>

The are no remains nor surviving tradition of a palace at Quatt. <2b>

A motte and bailey, sited on a sheer cliff 75 foot high on the east bank of the River Severn. A flat-bottomed rock-cut ditch, 15 feet wide at the bottom and 8 feet deep from the 'level of the bailey, isolates the motte from the ridge which forms the bailey. The material from the ditch had been piled on to the knoll of natural sandstone to raise the top of the motte some 25 feet above the ditch floor. The bailey appears to have been kidney shaped, with a steep scarp on its northern edge and a much less steep scarp on the southern side. The cutting of the road in the nineteenth century and the building of School House have distorted the eastern edge of the bailey, and left no evidence for a former ditch on that side. The motte and its ditch are tree-covered. The motte ditch was cleared out in 1830-1 and the finds included a horseshoe, spur and whetstone, together with a silver-gilt ring and penny of Henry I and a quantity of burnt straw. A segment on the east side of the bailey was excavated in 1960 by Barker prior to road-widening. The area measuring 90ft x 30ft revealed a large complex of post-holes, ranging in depth from two inches to three feet, but not closely dateable. Finds included a Neolithic/Bronze Age leaf-shaped flint arrowhead, a 12th/13th century bronze annular brooch, a 15th/16th century bronze buckle and a thin scatter of 12th/19th century sherds. There was no evidence of continuous occupation. In 912 Aethelflaed 'timbered a burh, (PRN 00408) at 'Briege' later identified by Florence of Worcester as Bridgnorth, but the possibility remains that this was at Quatford. Probably in 1086 Roger de Montgomery obtained the manor of Eardington, of which Quatford was part, from the Priory of Wenlock and created a borough there, mentioned in Domesday book as yielding nothing. A possible hunting lodge which was later castellated probably existed within what later became the bailey and the motte represents the final addition to fortification built probably about 1086. This borough was transferred to a new castle at Bridgnorth in 1101-2. <3a><4>

The motte is crossed by a shallow linear ditch running N/S, and the N and S sides have been damaged by livestock. I Burrow FI 1976 <12>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Medium score as one of 46 Motte and Bailey castles <13>

CMHTS Record Sheet <14>

CMHTS Report <15>

Scheduling revised in 2000. Scheduling description: ->

-> The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a motte and bailey castle, occupying a commanding position over the valley of the River Severn and with extensive views of the uplands to the west. It is recorded in the Domesday survey that the fortified borough and the 'new house'(considered to be the castle) at Quatford had been built by Roger de Montgomery. In 1086 he founded the former collegiate church of St Mary Magdalene, which is located a short distance to the east of the castle. A documentary source records that the 'oppidum de Quatfort' (the settlement of Quatford) was transferred to Bridgnorth in 1101-02. ->

-> The flat-topped, steep-sided D-shaped motte stands about 9m high and measures approximately 35m by 50m at its base and 11m across the top. It was constructed next to a vertical cliff above the River Severn and is bounded on its eastern side by a 3m deep rock-cut ditch, which separates it from the bailey. The ditch was excavated in 1830-31 and produced a variety of finds, including a penny of Henry I (1068-1135). Old excavation trenches, 2m wide, for which no archaeological records survive, cut across the top of the motte. The bailey, about 0.5ha in area, occupies a low ridge with the ground falling away to the north and south. It is defined on its northern and southern sides by well-defined scarps, approximately 2m and 1.3m in height respectively, which were created by cutting into the natural slopes. The western end of the southern scarp is surmounted by a short bank to the south of which, continuing the line of the scarp, is a short ditch. The eastern side of the bailey has been cut into by a modern road. An archaeological excavation, undertaken in 1960 prior to the widening of the road, failed to locate any original defences defining the eastern side of the bailey. Numerous post holes were found during the investigation marking the positions of wooden structures which were probably used for storage or keeping livestock. Evidence from the excavation suggests that these structures were short-lived and helps to support the historical evidence that the site was abandoned by 1102 when Robert de Belesme established his castle at Bridgnorth, 6km to the north west. This is the subject of a separate scheduling. ->

-> All fences, gates and stiles, the water trough and fodder container, and the timber hut to the south of the motte are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. <16>

Listed by Cathcart King. <20>

Sources

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