Battlefields›Anarchy: Shrewsbury Castle Siege 1138
Medieval

Anarchy: Shrewsbury Castle Siege 1138

1138
England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
William FitzAlan
VS
Victor
Stephen
Outcome
King Stephen took the castle after a short siege and had the surviving garrison, including Ernulf de Hesdin and others (reportedly around 93 men), hanged; William FitzAlan fled before the fall and was deprived of his lands, going into exile until 1153-4.
The Battle

History & Significance

Anarchy: Shrewsbury Castle Siege 1138 was a medieval siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought in England in 1138. The victor was Stephen. King Stephen took the castle after a short siege and had the surviving garrison, including Ernulf de Hesdin and others (reportedly around 93 men), hanged; William FitzAlan fled before the fall and was deprived of his lands, going into exile until 1153-4.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Anarchy: Shrewsbury Castle Siege 1138 lies on Warwickshire Group, bedrock that formed in the Early Permian. The rock here is siltstone and sandstone with subordinate mudstone.

Casualties & Losses
  • Surviving garrison hanged after the castle fell; sources cite Ernulf de Hesdin and roughly 93 others executed, though precise contemporary source figures vary
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Anarchy: Shrewsbury Castle Siege 1138

This page covers Anarchy: Shrewsbury Castle Siege 1138. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
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Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
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Target Zones
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Anarchy: Shrewsbury Castle Siege 1138

Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0 mi

Shrewsbury Castle is a Norman castle founded in the late eleventh century by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, positioned strategically on a promontory overlooking the River Severn in Shropshire. The castle was constructed with a motte-and-bailey design typical of post-Conquest fortificati…

CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Remains of the crypt or undercroft to the Old Church of St Chad
Remains of the crypt or undercroft to the Old Church of St Chad
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

The Remains of the crypt or undercroft to the Old Church of St Chad is a medieval ecclesiastical structure located in Shropshire. The crypt represents significant evidence of early church architecture, demonstrating the engineering and religious practices of its period. Such crypts typically serv…

Tom McCallister / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Shrewsbury Abbey (including pulpit)
Shrewsbury Abbey (including pulpit)
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

Shrewsbury Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by Roger de Montgomery, Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, and dedicated to the Holy Cross. The abbey developed into one of the most significant religious houses in the West Midlands, acquiring considerable estates and exercising influence throu…

Diliff / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Slight univallate hillfort, an 18th century folly and a World War II spigot mortar emplacement, on the summit of Haughmond Hill
Slight univallate hillfort, an 18th century folly and a World War II spigot mortar emplacement, on the summit of Haughmond Hill
Scheduled monument · ~2.7 mi

Slight univallate hillfort is an Iron Age earthwork located on the summit of Haughmond Hill in Shropshire. The monument consists of a single defensive bank and ditch enclosing the hilltop, characteristic of univallate hillfort construction during the Iron Age period. The site was later reused dur…

Sandy Gerrard / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Haughmond Abbey: an Augustinian monastery on the site of an earlier religious foundation, a post-Dissolution residence and garden remains
Haughmond Abbey: an Augustinian monastery on the site of an earlier religious foundation, a post-Dissolution residence and garden remains
Scheduled monument · ~3.3 mi

Haughmond Abbey is an Augustinian house founded in the twelfth century in Shropshire, established on the site of an earlier religious foundation. The monastery flourished during the medieval period as an important Augustinian community before its dissolution in 1539. Substantial remains survive,…

JohnArmagh / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Slight univallate hillfort and a World War II vehicle testing station on the summit of Ebury Hill, 550m west of Haughton Farm
Slight univallate hillfort and a World War II vehicle testing station on the summit of Ebury Hill, 550m west of Haughton Farm
Scheduled monument · ~3.9 mi

Slight univallate hillfort is a prehistoric defensive earthwork located on Ebury Hill near Haughton Farm in Shropshire. The monument comprises a single bank and ditch defining an enclosed hilltop settlement, characteristic of Iron Age fortification practices in the region. The site's archaeologic…

Sandy Gerrard / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Length of medieval town wall, sally port and interval tower
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
Town wall section E of Belmont Crescent
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 miles
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