The Gatehouse website record for Tanworth

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; The Mount, Cheswick Green; Shirley

In the civil parish of Solihull. In the historic county of Warwickshire (Modern Authority of Solihull, 1974 county of West Midlands).

Moat possibly C14-C15 in date. Observations in C19 found the moat comprising an oblong area encircled by a deep moat, with an internal rampart on the east. The moat was 18-20ft wide, and the rampart up to 60ft wide and 20ft high. Excavations in 1953 by the Ministry of Works recovered C12-C13 pottery indicated occupation of the site prior to construction of the moat. The moat was constructed no earlier than about 1300 and contained no internal structures. This absence has led to the interpretation that Mount was a military earthwork. Furthermore, the absence of any palisading, or a permanent bridge and gates, suggests that it was either erected hastily and abandoned, or was intended as a temporary stronghold. It is impossible to date the Mount closely and its original purpose remains. A surveyed in 1976 found the moat had been completely filled and half the earthwork destroyed. The remaining part was badly mutilated.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP13007607

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 331433
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular '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, or elsewhere.

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.