Scheduled MonumentsEnglandOswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church

Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church

England
List entry 1019300
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1019300
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.29 hectares
Grid reference
SJ 29051 29810
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Oswestry Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortress positioned immediately north east of Christ Church in the market town of Oswestry, Shropshire. The castle was established in the Norman period following the conquest, serving as a strategic stronghold in the Welsh Marches frontier region. The monument comprises an imposing earthwork mound, or motte, with an adjoining section of the town wall that formed part of the castle's defensive circuit. The site remains substantially preserved as an earthwork, representing an important example of early Norman military architecture in the borderlands.

Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1019300. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church?

Oswestry Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortress positioned immediately north east of Christ Church in the market town of Oswestry, Shropshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1019300.

Who is responsible for protecting Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church?

Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1019300.

What other scheduled monuments are near Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: section 200yds (180m) long, S of The Royal Oak Inn (5.5 km), Offa's Dyke: section 330yds (300m) S from Treflach Wood (5.7 km), Offa's Dyke: section 90m east of Ty Gwyn (6.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
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.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church

Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church stands on Warwickshire Group, bedrock that formed in the Early Permian. The rock here is siltstone and sandstone with subordinate mudstone.

The wider landscape

Around Oswestry Castle: motte and adjoining section of the town wall immediately north east of Christ Church

WroxeterRoman town · ~21.5 milesOffa's DykeArchaeological site · ~24.9 milesBattle of Shrewsbury 1403Battle (1403) · ~15.6 milesBattle of Rowton Heath 1645Battle (1645) · ~23 miles