Details

The monument includes the known surviving extent of the earthwork and buried
remains of a motte castle situated next to the medieval church of St Peter and
St Paul in the middle of Wem.
The castle was at the centre of the Pantulf baronry and was used by the
Pantulfs as their principal residence, or caput. A documentary source suggests
that the castle was constructed by William Pantulf between 1135 and 1154.
Around the beginning of the 13th century Hugh Pantulf, with the help of
Richard de Slepe, rebuilt the castle by replacing wooden structures with stone
buildings. In 1235 the castle passed by marriage to the le Botiler family. In
1290 it was in ruins and was rebuilt in 1313, at which time it was held for
the le Botiler's by Hugh fitz Aer. In 1459 title to the castle passed to the
de Audleys and it was dismantled shortly afterwards. In 1538 all that remained
visible of the castle was the motte and an encircling ditch. In Garbet's
History of Wem (1818) it is noted that the height of the motte had recently
been reduced by quarrying and ploughing. In the mid-19th century the southern
portion of the motte was further reduced in height and a brick-built retaining
wall, aligned east-west, was built across the mound.
The oval-shaped motte occupies a slightly elevated position with the
surrounding ground lower to the south and west. The motte measures
approximately 50m by 56m at its base, 28m by 35m across the top, and stands
nearly 3m high. Where it has been reduced in height to the south it is about
1.7m high. According to Garbet's description of the castle, the encircling
ditch was eight yards (about 7.5m) wide. To the north the ditch has been
infilled and survives as a buried feature. To the south and west little is
expected to survive of this feature because of extensive landscaping carried
out here in the 18th and 19th centuries. To the east much of the area of the
former ditch is occupied by the graveyard of the neighbouring church and is
not included in the scheduling.
A limited archaeological excavation was carried out in 1998 in relation to
proposed repairs to the 19th century retaining wall, which defines the western
and southern sides of the motte. Deposits of earth forming the original
structure of the motte where found, sealed by layers of soil attributed to the
landscaping of the site in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The wall which cuts across the motte, the cobbled and paved areas, the gravel
paths and the stone kerbs, all other modern ornamental garden features,
including the fishpond, are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath all these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Motte castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the
Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the motte,
surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of
examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey,
adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bai1ey castles acted as
garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in
many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal
administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte castles
generally occupied strategic positions dominating their immediate locality
and, as a result, are the most visually impressive monuments of the early
post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape. Over 600 motte castles
and motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally, with examples known from
most regions. Some 100-150 examples do not have baileys and are classified as
motte castles. As one of a restricted range of recognised early post-Conquest
monuments, they are particularly important for the study of Norman Britain and
the development of the feudal system. Although many were occupied for only a
short period of time, motte castles continued to be built and occupied from
the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they were superseded by other
types of castle.

Despite the reduction in its height, the motte castle in the centre of Wem is
a good example of this class of monument. Throughout its history Wem Castle
has influenced the form and shape of the surrounding settlement. Its later
modification should be seen in relation to the changes occurring to the town
attributed to a renewal in economic prosperity.
The motte will retain evidence of its construction and the organic remains
preserved in the buried ground surface beneath the motte, and deposited within
the remains of the encircling ditch, will provide information about the local
environment and the use of the land prior to and following the construction of
the motte. The small-scale archaeological excavation has helped to determine
the nature and the degree of survival of the deposits forming the motte. The
importance of the castle is also enhanced by documentary sources, providing
information about the various phases of rebuilding and about ownership during
the medieval period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
'Marches Archaeology Report No 17' in Wem Castle, Wem, Shropshire, (1998)
Dalwood, H, 'Central Marches Historic Towns report' in Archaeological Assessment of Wem, Shropshire, (1996)
Other
Brown, T, Wem Castle, 1987, Rev of doc sources, typescript in SMR

Source: Historic England