Rorrington, Chirbury (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
The Mount

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: SJ30310043
Latitude 52.5966° Longitude -3.0291°

Rorrington, Chirbury 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 a small motte castle situated on the northern edge of a small steep sided valley. It includes an earthen mound up to 25m in diameter and 2.5m high positioned on the precipitous edge of the valley to make maximum defensive use of the natural topography, the natural slope forming the south west side of the motte. The flat summit of the motte is circular in plan with a diameter of 16m. A ditch 6m wide and 0.4m deep is visible around the north east quarter of the motte. The ditch has been removed by the excavation of a platform for the construction of a cottage and outbuildings around the south east quarter and would never have existed around the west, where the valley slopes provide sufficient defence. The cottage and outbuildings which lie adjacent to the monument are not included within the scheduling, their platform being cut through the ditch. (EH Scheduling report 1995)

The VCH wrote "Probably a tumulus" other, later writers accepts as small castle mound.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument number 1012862, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 19195
English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 66429.
County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 01044.

Books
- Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 136-7
  Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 88 (slight)
  Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 422 (Chirbury No. 6)
  Wall (after Downham), 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol. 1 p. 411 (where called 'tumulus')
Periodical Articles
- King, D.J.C. and Spurgeon, C.J., 1965, 'The mottes in the Vale of Montgomery' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 114 p. 76
  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
  1918-19, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 8 p. 161
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- English Heritage, 1995, Scheduling Papers (Revision, 19/05/1995)
  Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1985, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 18107

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