Stapleton Motte

Heritage listing

Details The monument includes the remains of a small motte castle situated on the north bank of a tributary of Cound Brook. The motte is believed to be the castle of Stapeleton-in-Legharness founded during the 12th century and which was in the custody of King John in 1207. The castle lies within the main north to south valley communication route along the Cound Brook valley south of Shrewsbury. It includes a castle mound, or motte, roughly circular in plan with a base diameter of 31m which rises 3m to a flat summit 22m in diameter. A slight hollow 2m wide and up to 0.3m deep around the north quarter of the site, through which the churchyard path runs, represents the only visible portion of the surrounding ditch. The ditch will survive as a buried feature of a similar width around the remaining sides of the mound. The eastern boundary of the churchyard crosses the motte summit and there are five grave markers set upon the part of the summit which falls within the churchyard. No bailey associated with the motte has yet been traced. The churchyard boundary fence and the five grave markers on top of the motte are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath is included. MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation. Legacy The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system. Legacy System number: 19225 Legacy System: RSM

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.