Reasons for Designation
Ringworks are medieval fortifications built and occupied from the late
Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. They comprised a small defended
area containing buildings which was surrounded or partly surrounded by a
substantial ditch and a bank surmounted by a timber palisade or, rarely, a
stone wall. Occasionally a more lightly defended embanked enclosure, the
bailey, adjoined the ringwork. Ringworks acted as strongholds for military
operations and in some cases as defended aristocratic or manorial settlements.
They are rare nationally with only 200 recorded examples and less than 60
with baileys. As such, and as one of a limited number and very restricted
range of Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, ringworks are of particular
significance to our understanding of the period.
The ringwork known as Queen Eleanor's Bower is a good example of this
class of monument. The remains of buildings will survive as well as buried
features, which together with the associated artefacts and organic
remains, will provide evidence about the lifestyles and activities of
those who occupied the site. Organic remains preserved in the buried
ground surface beneath the bank will provide information about the local
environment and land use prior to the construction of the ringwork.
Details
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a ringwork known as
Queen Eleanor's Bower, situated on a knoll near the base of the south western
side of Haughmond Hill. From this location there are extensive views of the
Severn valley, including the medieval urban centre of Shrewsbury to the south
west. The ringwork is overlooked by a rocky shelf to the south east, separated
from the knoll by a steep-sided gully. It is not known where its name, Queen
Eleanor's Bower, originated. A slight univallate hillfort, 100m to the north,
on the summit of Haughmond Hill, is the subject of a separate scheduling.
The knoll, which forms the base of the ringwork, appears to have been
artifically steepened in order to create a conical shaped mound. Across the
base it measures approximately 82m north west-south east by 92m north-south.
In relation to the sloping ground which surrounds it, the height of the
ringwork steadily increases from the north east to the south west. On the
south eastern side it stands about 7.5m high. The top of the ringwork is
triangular in shape and measures approximately 38m by 40m, and around the edge
is a stony bank 4.5m wide and up to 0.7m high internally.
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.
