Whitsburn Hill

In the civil parish of Worthen With Shelve. In the historic county of Shropshire (Modern Authority of Shropshire, 1974 county of Shropshire).

Scheduled in 2001. The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a ringwork, situated on a gentle NW facing slope on the northern flank of Whitsburn Hill. From this location there is a commanding view of the whole Rea Brook valley. The ringwork is broadly contemporary with other medieval fortifications in the vicinity including the mottes near Village Farm and Lady House Farm .. The ringwork is an oval-shaped enclosure, measuring apx 32m N-S by 36m E-W. The external ditch is between 5m and 8m wide. The portion to the south is about 1m deep and is waterlogged, while the northern and eastern portions survive as a buried feature as they have been largely infilled. Material excavated from the ditch has been used to raise the northern half of the interior above the level of the surrounding land in order to create a level building platform that stands up to 1.9m high and probably supported a watchtower. Spoil from this operation has also been used to create a low bank, 4m wide, around the top of the internal platform. It defines a circular area about 11m in diameter. The NW part of the bank has been subsequently reduced in height. Despite some modification to the defences, the ringwork is a good example of a nationally rare type of monument. It is one of the smallest ringworks known in Shropshire and its principal purpose appears to have been to support a watchtower. (EH scheduling report)
How a small 'knight's fee' manor is supposed to fund the manning of a watch tower remains a unanswered, indeed usually unasked, question. I am of the opinion that such tower were fundamentally symbolic and about establishing the concept of Norman dominion in a frontier area.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ328029

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 66434
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 01627 '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) p178
    Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern) p88 [slight]
    Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p62-3
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • English Heritage, 2001, Scheduling Papers [New Scheduling, 18/09/2001]