Hockleton Motte (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Tirley; Touchill; Hoketon

In the civil parish of Chirbury With Brompton.
In the historic county of Shropshire.
Modern Authority of Shropshire.
1974 county of Shropshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO27459995
Latitude 52.5917° Longitude -3.0718°

Hockleton Motte has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

The monument includes the remains of a motte and bailey castle situated on the north end of a ridge on the west bank of a steep sided gorge through which the River Camlad flows, north of Chirbury. The castle was sited to control a river crossing some 200m north of the castle. It includes a well defined castle mound, or motte, circular in plan with a base diameter of 25m rising 4m to a flat summit 6m in diameter. Attached to the north side of the motte are the remains of a roughly triangular bailey enclosure, within which the domestic buildings associated with the castle would have been protected. It has maximum internal dimensions of 40m east to west by 30m north to south and is bounded around its west, north and east sides by a scarp averaging 2m high which curves inwards in the south, towards the motte, which here forms the south side of the enclosure. The bailey scarp is interrupted at its northern corner by an original entrance gap 6m wide. Although no longer visible as a surface feature an outer ditch with an estimated width of 4m will surround the exterior of the motte and bailey. (EH Scheduling report 1995)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument number 1013490, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 19227
English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 105520; 1145176.
County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 01220.

Books
- Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 83-4
  Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 87 (slight)
  Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p. 199, 200, 218, 219 (plan, air photo)
  Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 27
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 422 (Chirbury No. 4)
  Bird, A.J., 1977, History on the Ground (University of Wales Press) p. 89
  Rees, W., 1933, Historical map of South Wales and the Borders in the C14
  Wall (after Downham), 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol. 1 p. 391
Periodical Articles
- King, D.J.C. and Spurgeon, C.J., 1965, 'The mottes in the Vale of Montgomery' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 114 p. 75, 77 (plan)
  Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124
  Chitty, Lily, 1949, 'Subsidiary Castle Sites West of Shrewsbury' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society Vol. 53 p. 83-90
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 33 online copy
  English Heritage, 1995, Scheduling Papers (Revision, 22/11/1995)
  Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1985, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 18100

Data >	PastScape	County HER	Scheduling
Maps >	OS getamap	Streetmap	Old-Maps	Where's the path
Data/Maps >	Magic	V. O. B.	EarthTools
Air Photos >	Bing Maps	Google Maps	Getmapping	Flashearth
Photos >	CastleFacts	Geograph	Flickr	Panoramio