Authors in extensive tour of Shropshire castles
SHROPSHIRE boasts fortifications from all eras and in various stages of repair, and a husband-and-wife team has detailed them in a book.
Castles of Shropshire by Peter and Anne Duckers describes the history of castles such as Whittington and those whose history is more obscure, such as Whitchurch and Wem.
The county has the highest concentration in England of the motte-and- bailey type of castle - an earth mound on which timber structures stood.
One reason is its proximity to the Welsh border, a turbulent place for many centuries as battles raged with the Welsh.
The Duckers detail the strategic reasons for building the castles and recount their owners and stories to the present day.
They covered more than 1,800 miles to visit every site in Shropshire where something remained to be seen. Here is their description of Whitchurch Castle.
Whitchurch Castle
THE former Roman fortress and settlement of Mediolanum was held in 1086 by Count William de Warene and was then known as Westune.
"Little is known of the castle of Whitchurch and its site is disputed even now," say the authors.
Founded before 1190, there are references to it in the 12th Century and it may have been reconstructed in stone by 1384.
The town was also defended by a ditch and earth rampart prior to 1400. The suggested sites are on Castle Hill, or Sherrymill Hill, west of the town centre, where earth- works could have been a motte.
In the Civil War the town was taken by parliamentarians in 1643 but it was not deemed strong enough to maintain a garrison, implying the castle was in a bad state, if it existed at all.
More extracts from Castles of Shropshire by Peter and Anne Duckers to follow.
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