Pan Castle

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

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a motte and bailey castle, occupying a low-lying position in an area of undulating and formerly marshy land. From this location there are extensive views to the east and north east, including the nearby town of Whitchurch where an early medieval castle is also known to have been built. The oval, steep-sided, flat-topped motte measures apx 62m by 78m at its base and 47m by 60m across the top and stands to a height of 4.5m. It is surrounded by a waterlogged ditch, between 7m and 15m wide, and a large outer bank, averaging 17m wide and up to 1.2m high. Within the northern part of the ditch is a causeway. As part of a small scale archaeological investigation conducted in 1916 this causeway was partly excavated and the remains of a bridge were found. Occupying the sloping ground to the south of the motte is a large parallelogram-shaped bailey. The earthwork defences enclose an area of nearly 2ha .. [details of ramparts given] .. [On the northern side] a raised causeway has been constructed, which probably connected to a bridge providing access to the motte. On the western side of the bailey .. there is a break in the defences, which has been enlarged in modern times but may represent the site of an original entrance way into the bailey. The causeway across the SW corner of the defences in entirely modern. (EH Scheduled report 2001)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ52624047

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 71010
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 01039 '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) p125
    Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern) p83
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p219 [slight]
    Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p62
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p432 [Whitchurch no2]
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Wall [after Downham], 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Shropshire Vol1 p400-1 [plan]
• Journal Articles
  • 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
    Forrest, H.E., 1916 Nov 24, 'Shropshire Notes and Queries' Oswestry Chronicle
    Godsal, 1914, Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol69 p464-6
    Eyton, R.W., 1887, 'The castles of Shropshire' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol10 p27-8
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • English Heritage, 2001, Scheduling Papers [Revision, 18/09/2001]
    Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, 1985, Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 16193
    Shrewsbury Local Studies Library - Whitchurch envelope H61