Acton Bank Castle was a probable medieval fortification in the village of Acton Bank, Shropshire, England.
The probable castle at Acton Bank is situated on the site of a Bronze Age barrow which overlooks the village. Although archaeologists are not certain, it appears that the barrow was adapted to form part of an earthwork castle in the early 12th century. If so, the work was carried out by the de Says family, who had been granted the manor – and later barony – of Clun after the Norman invasion of England. The de Says family’s main castle was at Clun, and the fortification and the surrounding lands formed part of a fiercely contested border region between the Normans and the Welsh.
Like other Norman lords at this time, the de Says family tried to expand further into Wales. Helias de Say inherited the castle from his father around 1130, and said to have fought and killed the Welsh princes Howell and Cadogan. Under Helias, the barony of Say was divided in two, with Helias’ daughter, Isabella de Say, receiving an expanded estate centred on Clun, and the more easterly elements of the de Say land being given to Theodoric de Say. Further up the valley, Acton Bank Castle was probably built at this time to shield Clun from direct attack by Welsh forces advancing over the ridgeways further to the north. The castle was probably only in use for a short period.
The remains today include the circular barrow, now 27 m (89 ft) in diameter and up to 2.5 m (8 ft) high, which would have formed the motte of any castle on the site. Traces of a semi-lunar bailey and an annex alongside the motte have been found using aerial imagery.
The site is protected under UK law as a Scheduled Monument.
Bibliography
- Lierberman, Max. (2010) The Medieval March of Wales: The Creation and Perception of a Frontier, 1066-1283. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139486897.
- Suppe, Frederick C. (2001) “The Persistence of Castle Guard in the Welsh Marches and Wales: Suggestions for a Research Agenda and Methodology,” in Abels, Richard Philip and Bernard S. Bachrach. (eds) 2001 The Normans and their Adversaries at War. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell.
- Suppe, Frederick C. (2003) “Castle guard and the Castlery of Clun,” in Liddiard, Robert. (ed) (2003) Anglo Norman Castles. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press.
Attribution
The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0.