More information : [SJ 40061537] Castle [G.T.] (Remains of). (1)
Three fragments of masonry on a small mound are all that remains of Shrawardine Castle (2) or Castle Isabel. Built, originally, probably by order of Henry I; razed by the Welsh c.1215; rebuilt about 1240, (3) the castle was demolished by Parliamentary forces in 1645. (2-4)
The mound is quite prominent, though pitted and uneven, probably because of stone robbing. There are only fragmentary remains of walling. See annotated 25". (5)
Shrawardine Castle is situated upon the northwest end of a low, pasture-covered ridge. The castle mound measures some 40.0m north-east to south-west, by 30.0m transversely, and is of 4.0m average height. Lengths of ashlar retaining wall remain at or near the foot of the mound on the south-west and south-east sides. Near the south corner a passage leads up onto the mound, bound by a stone wall on its west and north sides. Upon the mound two fragments of castle survive at the south and east corners, each about 2.0m in length and up to 4.0m in height, towards the west corner, foundations remain for 2.5m. Within the south corner are foundations of a room, measuring 8.0m square. Remains of a dry moat survive at the south corner of the mound, 8.0m wide and 0.8m deep. Traces of the continuation of the moat exist along the south side, and its former course may be recognised within remains and traces of a retaining bank on the north-east and north-west sides respectively.
To the south-east is a rectangular bailey, measuring 40.0m north-east to south-west, by 30.0m transversely. It is bounded on the north-east by an earth and stone bank, 7.0m wide and 0.4m high, with an outer ditch, 4.0m wide and 0.3m deep. The bank continues along the south-east side, and turns into the south-west side which has been levelled.
Resurveyed at 1:2500 on MSD. (6)
SJ 400153. Shrawardine Castle. Scheduled. (7)(8)
Additional references (9-11)
Listed by Cathcart King. (12)
Although standing within the lands of the fitz Alan Lords of Oswestry, Shrawardine was a royal castle, and there were at least half a dozen estates in Shropshire and Staffordshire which in the 12th century were held of the Crown by castle-guard services at Shrawardine. It was destroyed by Llewellyn in 1215 when he captured Shrewsbury. Although ordered to be repaired in 1220, there is no evidence of further Crown expenditure on the castle, and in 1244 Henry III gave the castle to John fitz Alan. The castle was demolished in 1645 after a five-day siege by Parliamentarian forces. (13)
The castle was covered by the deskbased lidar survey carried out in March 2014 which added some potential additional features not mentioned above. Key amongst these is a stretch of bank heading north from the field corner east of the keep cSJ 4015 1539. Although this feature is marked on the OS 1st Edition mapping, the lidar evidence reveals that it is a substantial structure c8.5m in width and 0.5m high, very similar in fact to the defensive works forming part of the south-east bailey mentioned by source (6) above. The bank runs almost due north from the field corner curving slightly and fades out by cSJ 4013 1548 in the vicinity of the pond. It is picked up again just to the west of the pond and runs from SJ 4008 1548 - 4005 1542 just north of the motte itself. As such this fits well with the description in the HER of a possible larger outer bailey. There are, however, also faint traces of a bank in the fields to the west immediately south of the road running from c SJ 3913 1549 - 4006 1548. There are faint traces of other banks on a similar alignment so it is possible that this feature is part of ridge and furrow cultivation, but its dimensions are very close to those of the other banks already noted so it is possible that it may represent part of an even larger outer bailey.
West of the motte a length of hollow way extends north-east from SJ 3997 1531 to the corner of the motte. Just north of the hollow way are a set of house platforms at SJ 3997 1535, which together with the hollow way make up the remains of the medieval settlement which existed close to the castle. (14) |