Acton Bank

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Hoddenton; Acton Farm

In the civil parish of Lydbury North. In the historic county of Shropshire (Modern Authority of Shropshire, 1974 county of Shropshire).

Rejected as castle by Hogg and King as apparently a cairn or barrow. However, more recent aerial photos of this very ploughed site clearly show crop marks of one and, possibly a second, bailey. PastScape report as "Bronze Age round barrow or ploughed down prehistoric or Roman enclosure, or motte and bailey, surviving as an earthwork. The cropmark remains of large circular enclosure with two annex enclosures were seen occupying the same location as the alleged round barrow and mapped from aerial photographs." The bailey(s) do not show on the Google aerial photo.
The monument includes a bowl barrow located on a false crest towards the southern tip of Acton Bank Hill. The barrow is visible as a plough-spread mound 27m in diameter and 1.3m high on its northern upslope side and 2.5m high on its downslope south side. Although there is no visible evidence of the ditch from which material would have been quarried for the construction of the barrow, one will survive as a buried feature 2m wide surrounding the mound. (EH scheduling report 1995)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SO31528504

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 107136
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 00147 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p13, 14
    Rowley, T.,1997, Norman England (London: Batsford)
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p208
    Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p69 [Reject]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p435 [Reject]
    Bird, A.J., 1977, History on the Ground (University of Wales Press) p100
    Wall [after Downham], 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol1 p386
• Journal Articles
  • Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1970, 'Castles in Wales and the Marches (Additions and corrections to lists published in 1963 and 1967)' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol119 p119-124 [Reject]
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • English Heritage, 1995, Scheduling Papers (Affirmation, 17/01/1995)
    Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1985, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 18110