Wednesbury (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Wedgebury; Wodensborough, Weadesbury; Weddsborrow; Ethelfleda Terrace

In the civil parish of Tipton.
In the historic county of Staffordshire.
Modern Authority of Sandwell.
1974 county of West Midlands.
Medieval County of Staffordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO988953
Latitude 52.55591° Longitude -2.02045°

Wednesbury has been described as a Uncertain although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The possible site of an Iron Age Hillfort is suggested by place-name evidence, although no surface trace remains. The site is traditionally associated with Ethelfleda, a member of the Anglo Saxon royal house, and sister of Edward the Elder. Ethelfleda is said to have established a castle on the site.
There are several antiquarian accounts of earthworks on the site around Church Hill. Two trial trenches were dug across one of the supposed ramparts on the west side of Ethelfleda Terrace. These showed that the bank here is of modern origin and that modern buildings are likely to have destroyed any earlier features. There is no evidence to attribute these earthworks to Ethelfleda and they may represent an Iron Age Hillfort. The place name evidence comes from the name "Wednesbury" which suggests there was an early earthwork. Wednesbury means the burh or fortified place of Woden. (PastScape)

Ethelfleda, who for some years governed the kingdom of Mercia, built or fortified a strong castle here, upon the summit of the hill where the parish church now stands. (White 1851 - almost certainly directly taken from Shaw 1801)

Comments

King writes nothing known of reported castle mentioned by Harvey. However, Harvey is almost certainly working from either White (1851) or Shaw (1801). The history given in Shaw needs to be read with care and circumspection and the nature of any Saxon fortification is an open question. However the location given is clear and this may well have been the site of an existing, Iron Age, earthwork. The location, beside a church, may suggests some continued use, as a manorial centre, after Ethelfleda time and even into the post-Conquest period but there is nothing to suggest Norman strengthening of the Iron Age earthworks so not a castle in the rather limited way King and most scholars define 'the castle'.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 118791.
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Books
- King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 452 (possible)
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  William White, 1851, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire (Sheffield)
  Shaw, Stebbing, 1801, The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (J.Nichols abd Son) (Republished 1976 by EP Publishing) Vol. 2 p. 83
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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