Monument Types

• RINGWORK? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: Queen Eleanor's Bower is now believed to be a good example of a ringwork (a nationally rare form of stronghold usually dating to within the late Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods), but remains a rather enigmatic site.

Related records: None recorded

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA4329 - 1981 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA4330 - 1977 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA4331 - 1964 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA4332 - 1936 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA4333 - 1985 field observation by English Heritage

Description

OS regard site as doubtful and formed by landslide <1>

Steep sided knoll 40 yds in diameter and 119 yds in circumference, with gap separating it from main slope of Haughmond Hill immediately to east. Plateau defended by low earth and stone rampart. SW side burnt to brick red and 'fused'. Terracing on west side of knoll <2a>

There is a clearly defined stone rubble bank around the edge of the summit. The mound as a whole is clearly natural, but the top has been defended <7>

Scheduling revised in 2004. Scheduling description: ->

-> The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a ringwork known as Queen Eleanor's Bower, situated on a knoll near the base of the south western side of Haughmond Hill. From this location there are extensive views of the Severn valley, including the medieval urban centre of Shrewsbury to the south west. The ringwork is overlooked by a rocky shelf to the south east, separated from the knoll by a steep-sided gully. It is not known where its name, Queen Eleanor's Bower, originated. A slight univallate hillfort, 100m to the north, on the summit of Haughmond Hill, is the subject of a separate scheduling. ->

-> The knoll, which forms the base of the ringwork, appears to have been artifically steepened in order to create a conical shaped mound. Across the base it measures approximately 82m north west-south east by 92m north-south. In relation to the sloping ground which surrounds it, the height of the ringwork steadily increases from the north east to the south west. On the south eastern side it stands about 7.5m high. The top of the ringwork is triangular in shape and measures approximately 38m by 40m, and around the edge is a stony bank 4.5m wide and up to 0.7m high internally. <8>

<00> Shropshire County Council SMR, Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards, SMR Card for PRN SA 00134 (Card index). SSA20722.

<01> Ordnance Survey, 1964, Ordnance Survey Record Card SJ51SW2 (Card index). SSA650.

<02b> Cantrill T C, 1913/ 1920, Haughmond Hill Earthworks Report, p10 (Article in serial). SSA647.

<02a> Cantrill T C, 1915/ 1916, Haughmond Hill, p138-142 (Article in serial). SSA646.

<02> Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (HBMC), 1986, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 26559 (Field Monument Warden Report). SSA652.

<03> Department of the Environment (DoE), 1977, Correspondence, 1977 (Correspondence). SSA649.

<04> Office of Works, 1936, Scheduled Monument Report Form (AM7) (Field Monument Warden Report). SSA648.

<05> Department of the Environment (DoE), 1972, Map of Scheduled area, 1972 (Scheduled Monument notification). SSA651.

<06> Various, 1975, Correspondence, 1975 (Correspondence). SSA645.

<07> Anon, Unattributed SMR Comments in SMR database, 15/04/1977 (SMR comment). SSA20176.

<08> English Heritage, 2004, Scheduling Papers (Revised Scheduling, 22/06/2004) (Scheduled Monument notification). SSA22105.

Sources

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