Monument Type(s):

• TOWN WALL (13th century to 15th century - 1200 AD to 1499 AD)

Summary

This site represents: a town wall of medieval date.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA6138 - 2007 Archaeological Investigations at Bridge Street, Shrewsbury by SCCAS
• ESA4908 - 1996 DBA and buildings assessment of land between Victoria Avenue and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury by Richard K Morriss & Associates
• ESA4905 - 1997 evaluation of land at St Austin's Friars and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury by SCCAS
• ESA7590 - 2015 Conservation management survey of the town walls, Shrewsbury, by SCAS

Description

The town wall, between the Rumoldesham Postern to the south (62565) and the Cripple Lode Gate to the east (62562). The angle-tower (62564) forms part of this section of the wall. The course of the town wall in this area was first defined in detail by J A Morris, who plotted sightings of sandstone masonry on his MS plan of 1905 (see site 60304) <1>

Although R E Davies did not detail or map masonry exposures individually, its course was evidently fairly clear at that time, as he described it, from the south-west, running down Morris's building yard, 'turning at the bottom, with a sharp angle, along another builder's yard, and through the Circus Brewery premises' <2>, and its course can be followed via building lines and property boundaries on the 1st ed. O.S. 1:500. The wall was exposed in two trenches (B and C) in 1997, and found to form a terrace, with core-work 1.20m thick cut into natural yellow sandy clay, and a face of finely-jointed Keele Beds ashlar, of squarish proportions (dimensions), facing north into the much lower ground represented by the area known as the Mudholes, the infilling of which was archaeologically represented by unstable rubbishy 19th-century made-ground. <3>

In 2007 a trial trench and watching brief was carried in connection with the erection of an office extension following the demolition of a former school house building (PRN 10116) at Bridge Street, Shrewsbury. The only potential remains of the town wall seen in the evaluation was the section of red sandstone wall incorporated into the lower courses of the rear (south) wall of the existing Morris headquarters building. The alignment of the town wall here would still be consistent with the section seen a little to the west in the 1997 investigations (ESA4905). There was no sign of the town defences elsewhere in the Bridge Street evaluation trench – indeed the level of the natural subsoil was consistent with the wall lying along the northern boundary of the study area. <4>

The section of wall on Claremont Bank appears to have been built in the 1250s, apparently under the supervision of Alan Gamel of Romaldesham who used local sandstone from his own quarry - possibly in what is now the modern Quarry. <5>

A programme of archaeological evaluation, comprising three trial trenches was undertaken at St Austin's Friars and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury. Remains associated with this section of the town wall were encountered in trenches B and C. ->

-> An exceptionally well preserved section of the town wall was revealed in Trench B at a depth of 1m below the present ground surface. The fabric employed in the construction of this wall is similar to that employed on other sections of the 13th-century town wall seen in recent years (N Baker, pers. comm.). Pottery from the foundation cut for this wall also suggested a 13th-century date for its construction. This section of town wall fronted onto the "Mudholes", an area known to have been used for the dumping of rubbish until the mid 19th century; the field evaluation demonstrated that this dumping, over the north face of the town wall, continued until the early years of the present century, probably until the site was acquired by Morris & Co. in 1919.->

-> In Trench C, abutting onto the south face of the wall of the angle tower (PRN 01460), were the possible remains of the section of the town wall which is thought to have run southwards from the angle tower towards the site of Romaldesham Gate at the junction of the modern St Austin's Friars and Claremont Bank roads. <6>

A conservation management plan was prepared in 2015 for the entire circuit of town walls surrounding Shrewsbury (excluding around Shrewsbury Castle at the NE corner). This provides a general historic overview of the development of the town defences, together with detailed analysis and management recommendations for individual sections (in gazetteer form in volume 2). This stretch is identified as 6e. ->

-> This section of town wall was recorded in evaluation in 1997 (<6>). A watching brief in 2007 following the demolition of a former school house building recorded sandstone stonework incorporated into the lower courses of the current offices buildings at Bridge Street (<4>). <7>

<01> Morris J A, 1901/ 1905, Annotated maps (Map). SSA10384.

<02> Davies R E, 1909/ 1912, Town Walls of Shrewsbury, p183 (Article in serial). SSA5571.

<03> Baker Nigel J, UAD Analysis (SMR comment). SSA20432.

<04> Hannaford Hugh R, 2007, Archaeological investigations at St Austin's Friars and Bridge Street, Shrewsbury, Shropshire (Excavation report). SSA22966.

<05> Morriss Richard K, 1996, The Welsh Bridge Development, Shrewsbury: an Archaeological Desk-top Study, p.21 (Deskbased survey report). SSA10661.

<06> Hannaford Hugh R, 1997, An archaeological evaluation at St Austin's Friars and Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury, Trenches B and C (Excavation report). SSA20919.

<07> Hannaford Hugh R, 2015, Shrewsbury Town Walls: a conservation management plan (2 volumes), Gazetteer 6e (Management report). SSA28223.

Sources

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