Oswestry Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Album Monasterium; Blancminster; Blankmouster; Croes Oswald; L'Oeuvre; L'uvre; Castle Loure; Castle Philip; Luure; Luvre

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

Medieval motte and bailey castle possibly extant in 1086 surviving as an earthwork mound although the bailey is completely destroyed. Stone castle built in 1148 by Madoc ap Meredyth, in disrepair by late C15, and demolished between 1647 and 1673. Only fragments of medieval structure survive: 2 substantial pieces of collapsed masonry (probably from former shell keep) on top of levelled motte and the possible remains of a reconstructed bastion on east side; revetment wall around the base of the motte probably late C19 but re-using medieval masonry.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 255543)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ29062981

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

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 65937
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 00332; 05780; 05781; 05782; 05807; 05808 '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.

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlewales.com/oswestry.html
    http://www.oswestry-history.co.uk/town-wall/wall-building.html#castle
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/oswestry.html
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/126/oswestry.html
• Books
  • Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p122-24
    Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern) p64
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p476
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p215
    Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p44-5
    Suppe, F., 1984, 'The Garrisoning of Oswestry: A Baronial Castle on the Welsh Marches' in Kathryn Reyerson and Faye Powe (eds), The Medieval Castle: Romance and Reality (Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, Iowa) p63-78
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p427
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p273
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p271
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p134
    Watkin, I, 1920, Oswestry with an Account of its Old Houses, Shops, etc, and Some of their Occupants p164, p281, p285-287, p289-293
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p179-80
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Wall [after Downham], 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol1 p316, 386
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p145-8
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p346-1
    Catherall, W.,1855, History of Oswestry: comprising the British, Saxon, Norman and English Eras p15, p92, p183-184
• Journal Articles
  • Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106 p371-392 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28199104%29106%3A419%3C371%3AAHOCRI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q
    Worthington, M., 1989, 'Oswestry Castle and Town Wall: Report on the Excavations in 1988' ?
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    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
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
    Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp19-64
    Armitage, E., 1904 April, 'The Early Norman Castles of England' The English Historical Review Vol19 p209-245, 417-455 http://www.archive.org/stream/englishhistorica19londuoft
    Parry-Jones, J., 1894, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol17 p107-73
    (Parry-Jones), 1894, Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol49 p59-67
    Eyton, R.W., 1887, 'The castles of Shropshire' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol10 p20
    1885, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol8 p145-86
    Clark, G.T., 1878, 'Oswestry and Whittington' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol33 p179-87 [reprinted in MMA]
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p417-8
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/shropseng.html#shrops14]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p395, 397
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol3 p75 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl03lelauoft
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1983, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 14575