Building on a long‑running programme of successful work on medieval motte‑and‑bailey castles in the north‑east borderlands, the Clwyd Powys region has recently crossed the border to support a new project at Ellesmere Motte and Bailey Castle. The project focuses on the impressive earthworks, where Heneb is providing specialist archaeological support to local researchers.
The work has been made possible through a grant from the Castle Studies Trust, awarded to the Ellesmere Bowling Club to investigate Ellesmere Castle (owned by the club) and the adjacent Castlefields, which are owned by Shropshire Council. The project is being led by Nick Cull and Gary Bick of the bowling club, and all surveys are being undertaken with the consent of Historic England.
Investigations to date have included a Ground Penetrating Radar survey of the motte, carried out by Adam Cook of SMT, followed by LiDAR analysis and additional geophysical surveys (magnetometry and electrical resistivity) undertaken by Heneb. Together, these non‑intrusive techniques will allow us to build a picture of what likely lies below the surface, without disturbing the ground or the archaeology beneath.
Ellesmere Castle is thought to have been built shortly after 1086 by Roger de Montgomery, a powerful marcher lord. Following a rebellion by his son, Robert de Bellême, in 1101, the castle passed into Crown ownership. Over the next century, the manor changed hands, including ownership by William Peverel of Dover and later by Welsh Prince Dafydd ap Owain, following his marriage to Henry II’s sister, Emma of Anjou, in 1174.
The survey results to date are highly encouraging. As with many marcher castles, Ellesmere now appears to be far more complex than previously understood. The combined evidence points to a strong likelihood that substantial masonry remains survive below ground, indicating that the site once included significant stone buildings rather than being solely a timber motte‑and‑bailey. Although much of this stone was probably systematically robbed out during the later medieval period, there is a high potential for important buried remains to survive, sealed beneath the Georgian bowling green.
