Category Archives: Shocklach

Norman heritage on the doorstep: St Edith’s Church, Shocklach, near Farndon

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Introduction

The tiny Grade-1 listed 12th century Church of St Edith (Historic England 1228322) is located just over four miles (c.6km) south of Farndon, retaining its lovely Norman arch.  Together with its mellow red sandstone walls, the twin bellcote, and its small churchyard it has considerable charm and personality.  It has been very well maintained, and a number of changes over the centuries were made, some later removed and some still in situ.

Although there are no signs that there was a village nearby, St Edith’s was built in the same period as the nearby twin motte-and-bailey castle at Castletown (see my earlier post here), and the two would have been part of the same set of community resources.  Given the state of the castle now, reduced to simple earthworks, the survival of the church seems all the more impressive.  It also probably served farms and hamlets in the general area, becoming the main place for regular get-togethers throughout the medieval period, particularly after the castle went out of use.

The biography of patron saint Edith is at best vague, but what is perhaps most interesting about her patronage is that she was an Anglo-Saxon saint, pre-dating the Norman Conquest (and the Norman arch), perhaps suggesting that the name was inherited from an earlier foundation on the same site.  Edith (or Eadgyth, Eadida or Edyva) is thought to have been an illegitimate daughter of King Edgar who became a nun at Wilton Benedictine Abbey in Wiltshire.  The Oxford Dictionary of Saints states that she was “conspicuous for her personal service of the poor and her familiarity with wild animals.”  She died at the age of 23, and miracles at her tomb resulted in a cult following.  Quite why she became a patron saint of a tiny rural church in west Cheshire remains unknown.

Building exterior

St Edith's Shocklach

St Edith’s, Shocklach

The Grade-II Norman arch is lovely, featuring chevron and cable designs, and was entirely in proportion to the Norman building.  Each end of the arch terminates in a little sculptural element, each depicting a human head, both are very worn.  Pevsner and Hubbard describe the arch as “very crudely decorated,” but the dismissive statement fails to acknowledge the considerable charm and authenticity of the ambitious archway on such a tiny church, as well as its determined fidelity to a particular stylistic paradigm. The main source of information about the church, Margery Waddams, who conducted research at the Chester Records Office, suggests that some of the upper chevron carvings may have been replaced.

Detail of the Norman arch

Detail of the Norman arch, right

Detail of the Norman arch, left

Detail of the Norman arch, left

The north wall is thought to date to the 13th century, although I have seen nothing to explain why the original wall might have been replaced.  There is a single sculptural grotesque above the former entrance, now a window.  Waddams suggests that there may have been a second Norman arch in the past in the south wall, due to the presence of “a small piece of chevron carving high in the south exterior wall which does not fit the present doorway.”  The chancel was added in the early 14th century.  An earlier arch is shown in the photograph above, although the date is uncertain.

North wall of the nave, with old entrance and grotesque

North wall of the nave, with old entrance and grotesque, thought to be 13th century

St Edith’s, Shocklach

Interior

Horse and rider carving

The interior consists of the original nave with a newer chancel on a slightly raised platform.  Some of the structure undoubtedly belongs to the 12th century, and there is a single carving that may date even earlier.  Located on one of the stone blocks of the north wall, close to where it meets the west wall, is an intriguing depiction of what appears to be a horse with a rider holding a shield. Although Waddams suggests that it was probably carved no earlier than the 17th century, the similarity to another carving at St Dochwy’s at Llandough, reported by George Bell in an issue of Country Life, may suggest an earlier date.  The article led the church to contact the author, who confirmed that such carvings are very rare in Wales and and that he has seen no others similar to those at St Dochwys or St Edith’s.  He points out that it could easily be an import from another site, and that it might (very tentatively) be as early as the 10th or 11th century in date.  The matter remains unresolved.

In the interior, according to the Historic England listing, the north wall of the nave may be 13th century, the chancel arch, the east window and the north doorway are, according to Pevsner and Hubbard, all features of the 14th century, although Historic England places the chancel in the 15th century.  Waddams points out that the top of the east window is missing, indicating that it has been cut to fit, suggesting either that it was taken down and refitted, or that it was brought from another church.  The 15th century stone font is still in situ, but was re-cut at a later date, probably in the 17th century.

Pevsner and Hubbard comment that “the odd west baptistery squeezed between the two buttresses looks a rustic c17 job” (Pevsner and Hubbard), a date also confirmed by Historic England.  Also from the 17th century and the pulpit has part of the base of an octagonal pillar, marked with the date 1678 in brass-topped nails. Some of the pews in the nave date to around 1697.

The font

Very endearingly, a pane of the east window is scratched: “I, Robert Aldersey, was here on 1st day of October 1756 along with John Massie and Mr Derbyshire. The roads were so bad that we were in danger of our lives”.

The arced plaster ceiling over the nave is 18th or early 19th century, very attractively decorated with little rosettes.   It slightly truncates the top of the original arch where it enters the chancel.  The communion rail dates to the same period, as does the “table of commandments” in the chancel (with the abbreviation of Jevhoval, IHVH, mis-spelled as VHVH) and a “Credence table” that was installed on the site of a recess that had been walled up in the past.

A major restoration took place in 1878, including the addition of a wooden floor above the original beaten earth floor, which required the shortening of the wooden door under the Norman arch.  Old high pews were replaced, and a gallery was removed.  In 1887 the celebration of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee sounds like a real celebration (the Vicar Edward E. Hodgson quoted in Waddams): “Children and people marched to the Church with flags and banners of the Cross singing. Service was held at 2pm fully Choral.  The Altar was decorated with 8 candles and 8 vases of flowers and floral cross, the windows with ferns etc.  The Children returned to tea at 3pm.  Adults had teat at 5.  Then sports, dancing with Brass Band, closed a thoroughly enjoyable day.”

Flanking the west end entrance to the babtistry, above the font, are the Royal Arms of George III, dated 1760, and the hatchment (funerary board) of one of the Pulestons, a local family, with their motto “Clarior es Tenebris” (More light out of darkness)

In 1903 two oak seats were presented to the church and placed in the chancel for the choir, whilst another six more oak seats were added to the nave.

Another major restoration took place in 1974, during which the small semi-circular window with its geometric stained glass was added at the west end below the bellcote.  To commemorate the year 2000 a new stained glass window was added to the north wall, directly opposite the Norman archway, based on the designs of children from the local Shocklach Primary School.  At the same time a new lighting system and an audio loop were also installed.

The church continues to remain in use, and organizes events throughout the year, based on the religious calendar, including the rushbearing ceremony.  In Pennine Magazine, Vera Adams describes the ceremony in the northwest:

Rushes have been used as a floorcovering for many centuries, and on  certain feast days fresh rushes were  strewn on the earth floors of churches.

A special festival, surrounding this  ancient custom, grew up in the north  west of England during the 17th century. In Lancashire, Cheshire and the  Calderdale area of West Yorkshire,  special rushcarts, pulled by a team of  stalwart men, were used to distribute  the rushes to the churches.  The building of rushcarts developed  into an elaborate ceremonial during  the 18th and 19th centuries, and great  rivalry grew up between the supporters  and the builders of different carts. This  was, at times, very intense and open  brawls occasionally broke out, due,  no doubt, to the amount of strong  drink which was consumed. This led  to some of the more puritanical clergy  refusing to allow the rushbearers into  their churches.

The two-wheeled rushcarts carried  bolts or bundles of rushes built, very  skilfully, into a tall pyramid, almost  like thatching, on top of the carts.  They were then decorated with flowers,  rosettes, scarves, ribbons, tinsel and  silverware. These trinkets were all  loaned by local people.

See Sources for the entire article.

Window below bells made during the 1974 restoration

Churchyard

The churchyard has always fully surrounded the church, but was extended twice, in 1905 (consecrated in the same year) and 1922 (consecrated in 1993).

The Grade II listed red sandstone cross shaft and steps is missing its top, with the cross-shaft, presumably the victim of the two periods of 16th or 17th century iconoclasm.  It stands on its original plinth of four steps.  The lower three are made up of several blocks (the lowest of which is 7ft x 7ft square (2.13m), and the top one 3ft by 3ft (0.91m).  A section removed from the top step was probably a kneeling platform.  The shaft of the cross is octagonal.  In the late 1890s it was found to be in a poor state of preservation as a memorial to the wife of the Reverend George Mathias, Esther Sophia.  It was restored with a base piece 14×14 inches (0.35m) square and 11 inches (0.27m) deep.  However, the idea was to restore it without succumbing to the temptation to make any attempt to otherwise improve upon it: “All this has been carefully done, no old stones having been misplaced, refaced, or in anywise injured.”

Oddly, there are only a handful of pre-20th century gravestones. I found none earlier than the 19th century, which include both table and chest types, the earliest dating to 1816.  Most churches founded in the medieval period that have continued in use in this area will usually have some 18th century gravestones as well.  Most of the the churchyard sloping away from the west end of the church is taken up with 20th century graves, dominated by the polished black style that remains popular in churchyards and cemeteries.

Visting

The church is not currently open to the general-interest public, although it is still a fully functioning church on a Sunday, but the exterior of the church with its Norman arch, charming bellcote and its peaceful churchyard makes for an enjoyable detour if you are in the area.  It is at What3Words address ///initiates.recent.diamonds, or at the very end of Church Road, just off the B5069 to the right, a few minutes before you arrive at Shocklach village if you are heading north to south.

Sources

The main source of information for this post was Margery Waddams, who went through the church records and undertook research at the Chester Records Office.

The letter from Graham Bell concerning the north wall carving is shown in a frame in the interior of the church.

Books, papers and articles

Adams, Vera 1984.  Rushbearing Revived. Pennine Magazine. Vol 5, No. 6, Aug/Sept1984
https://penninemagazine.wordpress.com/vol-5-no-6-aug-sept1984-rushbearing-revived/

Farmer, David 2011 (5th edition). Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford University Press

Haswell, George W. 1899. Shocklach churchyard cross. Journal of Chester Archaeological Society, Volume VI, part 2
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2910-1/dissemination/pdf/JCAS_ns_006_02/JCAS_ns_006_02_163-166.pdf

Pevsner, Nikolaus and Edward Hubbard 1971.  The Buildings of England: Cheshire. Penguin

Waddams, Margery 2015 (revised version). St Edith’s Church, Shocklach, Cheshire. Printed by St Edith’s Church and available to purchase on site (8 page booklet)


Websites

Based In Churton
Shocklach Motte-and Bailey Castle at Castletown 
https://basedinchurton.co.uk/2021/09/14/shocklach-castletown-motte-and-bailey-castles/

Geograph
St Edith’s Shocklach
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3064132

Historic England
St Edith’s Church
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1228322?section=official-list-entry
Medieval cross in St Edith’s churchyard
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1228350?section=official-list-entry

St Mary’s and St Edith’s (Tilston)
https://tilstonandshocklachchurch.co.uk/

 

St Edith's, Shocklach

 

A very beautiful autumnal sunshine walk along the Wirral estuary from Burton to Parkgate

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Bird of prey, Burton, Wirral

Beautiful feathers on a bird of prey at Burton, Wirral

Yesterday seemed, at first, to have been doomed from the start.  I was supposed to be driving to Aberdyfi in mid-Wales to do something specific, but 20 minutes from home, already running very late, realized that I had left two components essential to the task on the kitchen table.  Having returned home and collected the required items, I was leaving the house and went to take a quick snapshot in my garden of a squirrel running upside down along a power line and rapidly closing on an oblivious turtle dove, and found to my dismay that the camera couldn’t read the SD card. Nooooooo!  I knew I had a spare somewhere, but where?  Ridiculous to go to Aberdyfi on a sunny blue-skied day like this without a camera.  After half an hour of fruitless searching I picked up the phone and cancelled my visit.  Twenty minutes later I had found the wretched thing.  Instead of the planned expedition, I found myself grabbing the camera and car keys before heading up the Wirral to Burton to park up along the estuary and go for a very fine walk along part of the Wirral section of the King Charles III England Coast Path.  I hadn’t even got out of the car when I saw the above bird of prey, which politely held position whilst I scrambled out of the car.  A perfect way to turn around a very unpromising start to the day.

I have made a short visit to the estuary cycle track and walk in the past, simply to get a good look at the purported Iron Age promontory fort on Burton Point, but although it was enjoyable, it was a short stroll because the skies opened and I got drenched.  Today, with no risk of rain, I decided to walk from Burton towards Parkgate, which I guessed to be about an hour’s walk each way.  When I reached the “You are Here” board (with which the walk is dotted at key points) at Moorside, alongside Parkgate Spring and on the very edge of Parkgate, this was a full hour.

Parking is easy along the section of Station Road that lies along the estuary for the Burton to Moorside (near Parkgate) section of the "King Charles III England Coast Path"

Parking is easy along the section of Station Road that lies along the estuary for the Burton to Moorside (near Parkgate) section of the “King Charles III England Coast Path” (What3Words: ///glows.lung.headsets). Source: Google Maps

Parking for this particular walk is along the section of Station Road that runs along the side of the estuary, indicated by the red circle on the map.

The walk itself begins along the section of Denhall Lane that turns along the side of the estuary and passes a café, as indicated by the black arrow on the map.  Although vehicles are permitted as far as the café (just beyond the left edge of the map), they are banned beyond this point.

This first stretch of metalled lane is dominated by dog walkers and cyclists. Do keep an ear open for the cyclists as they can pick up a lot of speed along the lane and don’t always give a lot of notice of their impending arrival.  The path goes through various changes.  After some time it parts from the lane and becomes much more of a footpath with rough stone underfoot, which probably accounts for why the cyclists vanish from the scene at this point.  At one stage it becomes a track across a field, although there is a route around this in wet weather that diverts inland for a while.  The entire walk is well maintained with pedestrian gates and bridges where needed.  One field had horses in it, so do take care if you are walking dogs.

Scenically, the walk is always split between two different experiences to left and right.  The views across both wetlands and former wetlands to the Welsh foothills to the southwest are lovely on a sunny day, and you can keep an eye open for bird life.  On the other side of the path, immediately hugging its edges, there is an almost uninterrupted run of very fine hedgerows and trees.  At this time of year there is not a great deal to see on the estuary, although I was delighted to see lovely white egrets in a distant blue pool, as well as a couple of birds of prey hovering splendidly overhead. Most of the flowers in the estuary have gone over, but the autumnal leaves, berries, rose-hips and other fruits of the shrubs and hedges and the multiple colours of the changing leaves on trees along the paths were endless and superb, really gorgeous against a blue sky with the sun shining on them.

xxx

Nearing Neston I spotted a line of vast red sandstone blocks extending out into the estuary vegetation, and a small spur of land also extends out at this point.  An information board explains that this is part of the Neston Colliery, Denhall Quay.  There is a particularly good book about the collieries, The Neston Collieries, 1759–1855: An Industrial Revolution in Rural Cheshire (Anthony Annakin-Smith, second edition), published by the University of Chester, which I read and enjoyed a few years ago.  The sandstone blocks are massive, and as well as retaining original metalwork, one of them has become a memorial stone, as has one of the trees on the small spur of land.  The line of sandstone, now a piece of industrial archaeology, is a very small hint of the extensive work that once took place here, but is an important one.  The author of the above-mentioned book refers to it in a short online page here, from which the following is taken:

There are still some signs today of the old mining operations. Most prominent is Denhall Quay, the remains of which still jut out into the Dee Estuary. This was built in 1791 and was used to ship coal to North Wales, Ireland and occasionally to foreign countries, as well as inland via newly-built canals.  Also, if you know where to look it is possible to trace the location of many of the shafts that were once in use, including one hidden behind a brick wall in Riverside Walk. Easier and arguably more rewarding to find is The Harp Inn! The building was standing in the mines’ earliest days and records show it was a public house for the miners no later than 1813 and probably much earlier. It has several photos on its walls from the mines’ later days.

 

This is the point that I turned around and walked back. The image immediately above the  map shows point where the Parkgate Spring emerges, very audible but  not actually visible.


xxx

There are very few places to sit down along the walk, so I would recommend that if you need to rest your legs occasionally, you take your own portable seating.  Regarding refreshments, I have mentioned Net’s Café, near the Burton end.  I haven’t visited and apparently there’s no website, but it is just off Denhall Lane and it is listed on Trip Advisor here.  There is also a very good pub called The Harp, which I actually have visited, with outdoor tables immediately overlooking the wetlands towards the Welsh hills, just outside Little Neston.  The food being served there looked excellent, and I can give a solid thumbs-up for the cider.  The pub was particularly well situated for my return from Parkgate as the zoom lens on my camera, a particular beauty that has been worryingly on the twitch for weeks, suddenly stopped working and was now, just to ram home the overall message, rattling.  A glass of cider and a seat in the sun were perfect for jury-rigging the wretched thing so that the zoom now worked like an old-fashioned telescope and the camera’s autofocus, which was refusing point-blank to engage in conversation with the lens, could be operated manually on the lens itself.  Sigh.  New lens on order.

If you can do this walk in September when the berries are at their best, do take the opportunity, because it is stunning, particularly on a sunny day.  And all on the flat too, so entirely appropriate for unwilling legs.
xxx

 

Shocklach motte and bailey castle(s) at Castletown

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Two sites with one name

Shocklach East is on private land, but its north side can be viewed from the north over a short fence. The image has been stitched together from three photographs, hence the slightly odd appearance.

The name Castletown seems rather glamourous for what today is a wholly rural, agricultural landscape.  Castletown is located south of Crewe-by-Farndon and north of the village of Shocklach and west of the Castletown Farm on a peaceful country road.  On the Ordnance Survey map, which I was studying when working on the post about the 1854 Chester to Worthenbury toll road, there are some interesting details that merited further investigation.  Where the small Castletown bridge crosses a small stream, that eventually flows into the Dee, there are two fairly large sites shown flanking the road.  Collectively, even though they are near to Castletown, they are known as Shocklach Castle, although they actually make up two separate castle sites.

Map showing the sites at Shocklach either side of the Crewe-by-Farndon road as it crosses Castletown Bridge. Source: Public Map Viewer

A visit to the two-part site marked on the map means looking from the side of the road.  The site is not on a public footpath but is very close to the road, and some of the earthworks are clearly visible. As you can see on the above map, the site to the west can be seen from the Crewe to Shocklach road, whereas the one on the other side of the road is best seen from the lane that heads west to Castletown Farm.  For the purposes of this post, I have referred to these sites as Shocklach East and Shocklach West.

Click to see a bigger image.  The location of the Castletown / Shocklach mottes, south of Crewe by Farndon and to the north of Shocklach. Source: Public Map Viewer

The Shocklach site is a scheduled monument, which means that it is protected by the state.  It is recorded as Shocklach Motte and Bailey Castle by the government quango responsible for scheduled archaeological and historic monuments, Historic England.  Its listing code is 1012620, and it was first scheduled in November 1926.  The listing covers both Shocklach East and West.  It is well worth repeating Historic England‘s “Reasons for Designation:”

Shocklach Castle is of particular importance as one of a group of early post-Conquest (c.1100) mottes forming a defensive system aimed at curbing constant Welsh raids on the rich farming areas of south Cheshire. Additionally the site lies within an area containing the most important concentration of medieval monuments in Cheshire. These monuments include two shrunken medieval hamlets, a defended green lane, a Norman chapel, well preserved ridge and furrow, a ford across the River Dee, and a complex of communally owned watermeadows.  The monument is situated in a dingle thought to have been one of the ancient trackways utilised by the Welsh in their frequent raids into southern Cheshire.

It is difficult to imagine this sleepy road and its flanking fields having a strong military presence.  From the early 12th century onwards, however, the motte and bailey site sat on the edge of a settlement whose people were centred on successful economic activities including cultivation and probably livestock management, albeit fearful of attack from Wales.

Archaeological investigation at Shocklach West during the 1980s by the University of Chester (in those days called University College Chester) revealed a lot more than can be seen today.  As above, the site consists of two sets of earthworks, one to the west of the road, covered in trees, and one to the east, which is free of vegetation.  The two sites are scheduled together under one registration number, but it should not be forgotten that they are two separate entities, each of which needs to be understood in its own right.  Rachel Swallow, who excavated the site, talks about the confusion caused by the presence of two separate entities, one each side of the road:

There is a general, and historic, confusion about the function and purpose of the two monuments at Castletown.  The Ordnance Survey (OS) 25 inch maps of 1879 and 1911 clearly mark the monument to the east as a ‘castle’ and ‘moat’, with that to the west of Castletown Bridge as a ‘moat’. The survey of 1964 reinterprets the mound to the west as a ‘motte’, with the earthworks 30 metres to the east marked as a ‘moat’, but not as the site of a castle. In the early nineteenth century, Ormerod stated that the earthworks to the east appear unconnected with those he seemed to believe were of the Norman fortress to the west.

In the discussion below, the two will be dealt with separately first, before looking at how they might related to one another, but first a little look at what motte and bailey castles actually are.

Background – what is a motte and bailey castle?

Miniature from illuminated Chronicle of Matthew Paris (1236-1259), from BL MS Cotton Claudius D. vi, f.9, showing Henry I of England enthroned. Held and digitised by the British Library. Source: Wikipedia

Motte castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the Normans, made up of a defensive structure built on an artificial mound.  The bailey was a small group of buildings fenced and sometimes moated, attached to and protected by the motte castle. By the time that the Shocklach motte and bailey castle was built, either towards the end of the reign of William the Conqueror or at the beginning of the reign of Henry I, there were political and territorial disputes, particularly within Wales and along the Welsh-English borders.  One of the manifestations of this ongoing disruption was frequent cross-border raids to secure territories and resources.  

Armed dispute over territory and resources has a long heritage in Britain.  From the mid 4thmillennium BC there are the first signs of violence related to competition for resources, and it is likely that livestock raiding was an ongoing problem from that point forward.  It has been suggested, for example, that protection of livestock and  of grain, as well as of people, could have been a primary role of fortified Iron Age hillforts.  

When William the Conqueror arrived in 1066, he began to replace the existing aristocracy with those that he had brought with him, men that he could trust to support him to take control and enforce peace.  English names were quickly replaced by Norman ones in records and by Domesday, merely 20 years after the conquest, only 8 percent of landholdings were held in English names.  The Normans built castles to help them to govern and to demonstrate their power.  Castles, initially turf and timber, sprang up everywhere, later replaced by bigger stone structures.   As Crane observes:  “early Norman castles had more in common with Roman marching forts than with tribal hillforts.  They could be built with astonishing speed, they were virtually impregnable and their construction had more to di with military expediency than with cultural bonding.”

Dorling Kindersley reconstruction of a small motte and bailey castle showing the main features. Fortifications could be very small. Source: Dorling Kindersley Find Out website.

In a motte and bailey arrangement a fortification sits on a natural or artificial mound with an accompanying settlement in a walled/fenced area at its foot, sometimes surrounded by a moat or ditch.  Where the mound was specially built, it could be made of earth, rubble, or both.  A palisade, or fortified fence, surrounded the apex of the mound, on which some sort of tall fortified structure was built, providing views over the surrounding countryside to watch for any oncoming attack.  Most are now covered in grass and sometimes trees.   Where a bailey is also present a palisaded enclosure at the base of the motte, and connected to it, often contained buildings for people, livestock, and grain and water storage, and may surrounded by a bank as well.  These have often vanished from sight today.  Where water was locally available, these defences could also include moats (which in the soggy Cheshire area, might have doubled up as useful drainage ditches).  

Cardiff Castle’s shell keep. Source: Wikipedia

Motte and bailey castles are found in all areas where human population is found, including towns, villages and rural areas.  Although they are generally characterized as being located on high ground, in good strategic positions that are highly visible from the surrounding area, this is more difficult to arrange on the flat expanses and floodplains of Cheshire.  Historic England says that there are over 600 motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles are recorded in England, of which around 100-150 are motte castles without accompany baileys.

Although the best known examples were multi-purpose bases combining the functions of elite residences, administrative centres, strongholds for the protection of economic resources and the material objects that made up personal wealth, and, when needed, a garrison for military activity, there are many much smaller versions, particularly in rural areas, that worked as secondary support to bigger castles and served mainly as watch-posts with small garrisons attached.  Ruined sites and modern artistic reconstructions based on excavations indicate that these might be very modest affairs, with a motte might support a fortification that was little more than an elaborate, defendable shed overlooking a small enclosed gathering of buildings into which people and livestock could retreat, as the excellent reconstruction above from the Dorling Kindersley Find Out website suggests.  They became more elaborate as time went on, evolving into the shell keep, the successor to the the motte and bailey castle.  An example is the shell keep on a motte at Cardiff Castle, shown above the left, which shows how truly impressive they could become.

 

The Castle Sites

Aerial view of Shocklach East in the early 1980s the shadows highlighting some of the earthworks, together with ridge and furrow fields. Source: Williams, R. 1983, plate 2, page 60

The earliest motte and bailey site at Castletown, known as the Shocklach castle, is thought to have been originally built by the Barons of Malpas sometime around 1100, the year in which Henry I acceded to the English throne, in a co-ordinated effort initiated by William the Conqueror and built on by William Rufus to demonstrate English power and to protect the region from frequent Welsh raids.  In the early Medieval period, Malpas, Shocklach and Castletown lay in Anglo-Saxon Mercia, but after the Conquest they quickly came under the control of Norman Chester.

The names and lives of the individual barons at this time are by no means clear, and the line of succession is particularly confusing.  Cotgreave’s 2008 research has ruled out a number of earlier proposals, but in spite of his efforts he has been unable to provide a definitive story of the 12th-13th Century Barons of Malpas.  The barony of Malpas had covered a huge chunk of southern Cheshire at Domesday in 1086, when it was under the lordship of Robert fitzHugh, and consisted of some 43 townships, but it was divided into two halves (moieties) at some point after Domesday, possibly due to the lack of descendent in the direct line.  Part of the barony was apparently granted to Gruffydd ab Owain at around the time that Shocklach was built, potentially “one of the Welshmen on whom Henry I lavished grants in 1102 as bribes for support against the early of Shrewsbury.”  Redistribution of baronial lands was common when kings rewarded loyalty with property.  However, the land seems to have then passed into the hands of two other families, the Patrics and the Belwards.  For anyone wanting to follow the story further, see Cotgreave’s paper (in Sources, below). 

Distribution of castle sites under the control of Chester. Source: Swallow 2013-14.

Although Shocklach was held by the Malpas manor, it was occupied by families, who owed service to Malpas.  Rachel Swallow, who excavated Shocklach West, describes how between 1208 and 1229,  it was granted to David de Malpas (1185-1252) whose daughter was married to Rhodri ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd (c.1230-1315), probably a diplomatic alliance to reduce hostilities between Cheshire and Gwynedd.  He apparently had no right to his wife’s lands and Shocklach passed to new families (Sutton and St Pierre) as moieties (i.e. the land was halved for sharing).

Whichever family built the first Shocklach motte-and-bailey castle, it was one of a number built along either side of the river Dee to protect English farms and resources against the Welsh.   Shocklach was only one location in a string of defensive sites.  Looking at the local Ordnance Survey maps, there are motte and bailey castles and, often separately, moats all around this area.   The map above, from Rachel Swallow’s excavation report, shows the distribution of all the local ones, forming, depending on how you look at it, either two very rough lines north to south (running either side of the River Dee) or one zig-zagging line that spans and incorporates the Dee.

Whatever else we take away from the artists’ motte-and-bailey reconstructions, like the Dorling Kindersley one above, when we consider the sheer volume of these structures on OS maps of the area, the overall impression is that defence of even small settlements was an everyday component of life, made particularly important by proximity to the Anglo-Welsh border.

Shocklach East

Shocklach East. Source: Swallow 2013-14

Shocklach East is most clearly visible from the lane that leads to Castletown Farm.  It consists of a D-shaped moat or ditch (which is now filled with trees and shrubs) that protected a motte, which remains free of tree cover.  The motte-and-bailey earthworks to the east at Shocklach are heavily eroded but are nontheless better preserved than those to the west, on the other hand, are larger and lower than those to the west,

The motte is in the southeast ern section of the site and is today c.4-5m high (measured from the base of the ditch).  This is not visible from the road. It is oval-shaped, and surrounded by a low bank.

The ditch is on three sides, occasionally referred to as a moat, with a causeway that gives access to the main enclosure on the northeastern side.

Swallow says that the D-shaped bailey to the south is typical of the area, with kidney-shaped bailey and similar to that of Pulford castle. It measures c. 70 x 78m internally, and it too is surrounded partially by a ditch to the north a by a stream valley to the south.  Suring the survey, it was recorded that the ditch was up to 2.7m deep.  Although now dry, the ditch would have been joined to the stream to form a small moat.  

This motte and bailey castle was not physically attached to the Shocklach West site, which is a full 30m away.

Shocklach West

Behind this dense hedge is Shocklach West. I did my best to lean through the mass, but absolutely nothing was visible through the wilderness of vegetation.

The Shocklach West motte has not been excavated and, indeed, it would be difficult to see how it could be done efficiently.  It is completely hidden from view by trees that have been established over large section of the land, and the roots will be playing havoc with the underlying contexts, rearranging any structural remains and moving around objects.  I did my absolute best to get some sort of view through the shrubs, but there is nothing at all visible at the time of writing (mid-September) due to the dense tangle of shrubs and weeds around the trees.  A return visit in winter after the leaves have fallen and the weeds have died down may reveal more of the outline of the motte.

This view, taken from near to Shocklach West, shows the sort of view that the structure on the top of the motte would have had.

Like most rural motte and bailey castles, only the most labour-intensive features have survived.  The motte is around 5-6m high, which is quite sizeable after centuries of erosive forces, and there are remains of a silted ditch on south, southwest and eastern sides, beyond which there is an outer bank.  On the north and west sides, the bend in the stream forms another line of defence.  The size is consistent with other motte and bailey sites in the Welsh Marshes dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, spanning both Saxon and Norman periods.

The site is located on a hill with superb views over the Dee valley to the west with the Welsh foothills in the distance, and across fields to the east.

Another view taken from near to Shocklach West, showing the sort of view that the structure on the top of the motte would have had, across the surrounding woodland towards the Welsh foothills.

Two Castles, two stories? 

Both castles benefitted from a potable water source provided by the stream, and may have been positioned partly in relation to the road that passed between them.  Both were located on good agricultural land, indicating that they had something to protect, and were fairly evenly spaced from other castles that dotted the Dee valley.  Medieval hamlets in the Castletown area may have been served by one or both of the castles.

View from Castletown to the east

Swallow offers a number of suggestions for why two castles were required so close together, which take into account that no excavations have taken place at one site, and little dating material was found at the other, making it uncertain if the two sites were precisely contemporaneous or if one preceded the other.  Here are some of the options that she discusses:

  1. The castles could have been used together to protect the road that passed between them, a major route between north and south along the border.
  2. After the paired mottes were built contemporaneously, a bailey might have been added to the east later, in a lower position that was strategically less valuable than the motte to the west.  Some objects found at the site lend support to this interpretation, as does the fact that the eastern bailey seems to post-date some medieval ridge and furrow fields. 
  3. The pair has similarities to another pair of mottes in East Chelborough, Dorset, where a second motte replaces the first.
  4. Documentary sources refer to dual lordship and moieties, and it is possible that the monuments were held by different interests, perhaps representing Caldecott and Shocklach.  Swallow suggests, for example, that the motte to the west could like within Church Shocklach township, rather than Caldecott or Castletown. 
  5. A toll gate recorded in the route between the two sites suggests that this was a popular route for travellers and traders.  Twin castles, or an earlier and later castle may have been established to ensure that territories on either side of the road both benefited from toll income.  Although the site may have been established initially for military purposes, commercial interests may have become important too.  

See Swallow’s paper, which is available online, for more details.

Contemporary sites at Castletown

There are other sites in the Castletown area near Shocklach East and West, which are also scheduled.

The first consists of the remains of a village or large hamlet, some farm buildings and a ridge and furrow field system. Like the two castles, these have been included under one listing by Historic England, with the identification number 1016588.  These include at least six tofts (house platforms) and crofts (small farming enclosures) that make up the remains of hamlets to the north and south of Castletown Farm.  As well as the surviving components of buildings there are visible remains of ridge and furrow cultivation that lie to the east of the hamlets.  Although these remains are divided, this is only because the later Castletown Farm was built over other parts of the former settlement.  


Later history of Castletown

Swallow mentions that Castletown Bridge, which carries the road across the stream between the two castles, “was probably the site of the medieval toll gate, catching people and animals entering Cheshire from Wales to the south and west, as Shocklach castle guarded the only road into Cheshire at this point.”  Documentation suggests that a toll gate was present there
from at least 1290.  Swallow suggests that Shocklach castle had a defensive function until at least the latter part of the fourteenth century and probably became the site of a fortified manor house, mentioned in 1499, when the notorious judge Lord Dudley claimed rights to Shocklach, “and to have a toll for himself and William Brereton.”   Passing into the hands of the the Breretons, it then passed to the Hills and the Drakes.


Conclusion

Although today Shocklach sits in a peaceful area that consists mainly of farms and large fields divided by hedgerows, it is clear that from the early 12th Century, the twin mottes at Shocklach were important components in a wide line motte-and-bailey castles that made up much of the defence of the border between England and Wales.  Then too there were small hamlets and farms.  Although these lay on territory that was under dispute and where livestock and stored cereals may have been seen as easy pickings, they were supported by the presence of the castles.  Other nearby sites that are relevant are a Medieval field system at Castletown Farm and the local Shocklach Church, which retains a Norman arch.  The latter will be discussed on another post when I can gain access to the interior.  Between them these and other Medieval sites along the Dee valley the Castletown sites preserve part of the story of life along the Welsh-Cheshire border at this time.

Visiting: 
You can pull over on the edge of the relatively quiet road (pull well over in case of agricultural vehicles), but the site, on both sides of the road, is on private property so you cannot actually walk on or around the site.  You can only view it from the roads.  Before leaf-fall, Shocklach West is completely hidden by vegetation, but the north side of Shocklach East can be seen over a short fence.  I wouldn’t recommend it for a walk, because it is not on a public footpath, there is no pavement, the verges, where available, are narrow and uneven and the road is very bendy and rather narrow, not ideal for avoiding any traffic, most of which travels at some speed.


Sources:

Books and papers:

Cotgreave, P. 2008.  The Barony of Malpas in the twelfth century.  Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire (2008), 157, (1), 1–32.
www.hslc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/157-2-Cotgreave.pdf 

Reynolds, S. and White, G. 1997-98.  A Survey of Pulford Castle.  Chester History XXXVII, p.23-25

Pryor, F. 2010.  The Making of the British Landscape.   How We Have Transformed the Land, from Prehistory to Today.  Allen Lane

Swallow, R. 2013-14. Two For One:  the Archaeological Survey of Shocklach, Castle, Cheshire. Cheshire History Journal, No.53, 2013-4
https://www.academia.edu/4577267/Two_for_One_The_Archaeological_Survey_of_Shocklach_Castle_Cheshire_in_Cheshire_History_Journal_No_53_2013_4_Cheshire_Local_History_Association_2013_

Williams, R. 1983. Church Shocklach, Castletown:  the “moated” site. Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin 9, p.59–60
http://www.cheshirearchaeology.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/CAB-Vol-9.pdf 

Williams, R. 1983. Castletown.  A Deserted Hamlet? Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin 9, p.61
http://www.cheshirearchaeology.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/CAB-Vol-9.pdf


Websites:

Ancient and Scheduled Monuments

https://ancientmonuments.uk/114798-medieval-settlement-and-part-of-field-system-at-castletown-farm-shocklach-oviatt-and-district

Historic England
Shocklach motte and bailey castle, list entry 1012620
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1012620
Medieval settlement and part of field system at Castletown Farm
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1016588
Church of St Edith
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1228322

Archaeology and Metal Detecting Magazine
Shocklach: Its History and Archaeology. By Dave Sadler 5th September 2021
https://archmdmag.com/shocklach-its-history-and-archaeology-by-dave-sadler/

 

The 1898 mile posts between Farndon, Churton, Aldford and Huntington

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The milepost just outside Holly Bush Cottage, the nearest one to Farndon, close to the Barnston Monument. It sits at a slight tilt today.  This is the best one for seeing the manufacturer’s logo, which reads W.H. Smith and Co, Makers, Whitchurch. Milestone Society National ID: CH_CHTP08a.  What3Words ///dressing.sublime.lunge

Between Aldford and Farndon there are three very fine 1898 milestones dotted along the road, following the line of the Farndon branch of the old Chester to Worthenbury turnpike (toll road), all on the west side of the road. The photos here show those mileposts that remain between Farndon and Aldford along the B5130.  Other photos show milestones between Aldford and Huntington, plus one in Farndon, but I have no idea if there are some missing along that particular route.  At the moment they are in no particular order but I will eventually, when I have found a few more, organize them from north to south.

The photos of the milestones along the Farndon to Aldford stretch are mine, but the two to the north of Aldford, as the B5130 approaches Huntington, are by other people, found online, because I have not yet managed to track them down in the real world.  Please see the captions for image credits.  All photos can be clicked on to see the bigger image, in which the text on the mileposts can be read clearly (except, of course, where vegetation blocks the view).  For the ones I’ve seen myself, I have taken What Three Words readings to fix the location.  What Three Words is a smartphone app that assigns three words to uniquely describe areas a little smaller than the size of a parking space.  It’s simpler than other location systems, and fixes locations very precisely, world-wide.  It is particularly useful for finding people in emergencies, but I thought it would be useful for enabling people to relocate the mileposts when they become overgrown.  

Churton milepost, next to Greenfields, the last house in Churton at its north on the way to Aldford. Milestone Society Milestone Society National ID CH_CHTP07. What3Words ///blatnatly.backers.comic. My photos, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

All English turnpike Acts, each created by a separate Act of Parliament, had expired by the end of the 19th Century.  The Local Government Act of 1888 put responsibility for roads into the hands of local councils, making nearly all of the remaining turnpikes redundant.  Sections 92 to 98 of the 1888 Act, however, provided for some exclusions and section 97 enabled Chester County Council to initially avoid taking responsibility for the Chester to Worthenbury turnpike.  Eventually, the Council was forced to take over all the local roads and in 1898 it erected a number of particularly handsome mileposts in Cheshire, including those along the route of the former Chester to Worthenbury turnpike, by then defunct, as well as the Farndon branch of the turnpike.  I have posted about the Chester to Worthenbury turnpike – part 1 about the background to turnpikes and part 2 about the Chester to Worthenbury turnpike in particular.

The milepost outside Glebe Farm, between Churton and Aldford. The red dot is apparently something to do with a cycle race.  Milestone Society National ID CH_CHTP06. What3Words ///decently.hatter.slide. My photos, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

None of the  mileposts that must have been erected during the 1854 turnpiking of the road have survived.  Milestones or mileposts were erected from the first half of the 17th Century onwards, starting in southeast England, mainly for the benefit of mail coaches and other passenger vehicles.  Turnpikes were merely encouraged to install mile posts from the 1740s but they became a legal requirement from 1766 when it was found that as well as being useful for coachmen and passengers, it enabled accurate measuring of distances for the pricing of different routes.  It also helped to improve improved the reliability of timetables, something to which the turnpikes themselves, had enabled, particularly relevant in bad weather.  Assuming that mileposts were erected when the 1854 turnpike was established, they were presumably removed when the 1898 milestones were installed.

I was unable to find the Crook of Dee milestone, but in the Milestone Society’s survey (over 18 years ago) it is listed it as near Cheaveley Hall Farm, opposite Cheaveley Hall Cottages.  It is marked on the Ordnance Survey Map and on the above Public Map Viewer with the letters MP. Milestone Society National ID CH_CHTP04. Image sources: Geograph and the Cheshire West and Chester Public Map Viewer

The 1898 mileposts are all the same, painted white with black lettering, and consisting of hollow metal posts with two sides meting in the middle, topped with a triangular cap that is tipped towards the road.  The triangular cap says, in all cases, “Chester County Council 1898.”  The two sides, each facing into the oncoming traffic, give the number of miles to key destinations in each direction.  On the southernmost face, the manufacturer’s mark “W.H. Smith and Co., Makers, Whitchurch” is shown below the mileages.  There are no backs on the mileposts.  The ones shown here are in good condition. Being on the side of a very busy road, they are vulnerable to exhaust fumes and road dirt sprayed during rainy periods.  I don’t know who maintains them, but in other parts of Cheshire many have needed to undergo restoration, some having been in very poor condition.  A lot of this work has been lead by the Milestone Society in co-operation with the relevant council.

The Crook of Dee milestone at Cheavely Cottages. What3Words address: ///liner.apprehend.stitch

The survival of these mileposts is remarkable and a pleasure to see.  I have now found all of the ones on the former Chester to Worthenbury turnpike.   I only found the Crook of Dee milepost in November 2021, after hunting for it for ages.  It was completely concealed by undergrowth in the summer and it was only after leaf fall, and with the hedge cut back, that I eventually found it, covered in ivy but still there.  The photograph of the Crook of Dee shown above left, decoratively peeping through a fine show of dandelions and dead nettles is from the Geograph website, taken during the Milestone Society’s national survey over 18 years ago, and is a particularly nice photograph so I have left it here.  My own photograph is at right.  I cleared the ivy as best I could on a very dangerous stretch of road with no footpath and only a tiny verge, but it is in fair condition, albeit very rusty.  The What3Words address for it is shown on the image to the right.  It is located opposite the Cheaveley Hall Cottages,

Huntington milestone. What3Words ///shine.knee.reject

There is also one at Huntington, for which I kept an eye open for months, and found on the same day as the Cheaveley Hall one.  It is shown left, along with its What3Words location.  It is in excellent condition on a grass verge, just north of a pedestrian crossing.

The Ordnance Survey map, shows another run of mileposts between Churton and Worthenbury.  The first heading south from Churton towards Worthenbury should be somewhere along Sibbersfield Way (which I have repeatedly looked out for in the car when nothing has been behind me, but I still haven’t found)

The rest on the leg of the road south of the bypass that runs towards Worthenbury via Crewe by Farndon and Shocklach through blissful rural fields and past several estates and  farms. I made an attempt to locate them during the summer, few months later I found the one to the north of Crewe by Farndon, which had been revealed by hedge-cutting.  It is in the grass verge on the west side of the road, just before Caldecott Farm.

Not so shiny and new as some of them, but still hanging on in there!  It is located just short of a farm on the left heading south (the east), and is on the west side of the road about two or so metres to the right of a telegraph pole.  I will go back and get an exact What Three Words location for it next time I’m in that area, but for the time being it is roughly at ///rainfall.duplicity.proofs.

During the summer I was able to find the nice one in Shocklach, thankfully not hiding in a hedge and at that time pleasingly accompanied by some lovely roses.

The milepost at Shocklach, on the route to Worthenbury. Milestone Society National ID CH_CHTP12. My photo, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

I suspect that the rest are still hiding in overgrown verges.  As with the Crook of Dee milepost, as the vegetation dies down this winter I will continue to look for them.  When I have the full set I’ll put them into north-south order.

The Sibbersfield Lane milepost, which is on the stretch of road from Churton towards Crewe-by-Farndon, about halfway down before reaching the bypass, is slowly diving into a ditch.  It’s a terrible photograph but I was not going to risk getting out of the car to take it, as it is a very nasty and fast stretch of road.  I forgot to take its What3Words location, but will go back and re-take the photograph and note the location on a quiet day, preferably when the road is closed!  Taken in March 2022:

In May 2022 I was diverted due to the Holt-Farndon bridge closure down Barton Road, the road that runs through Farndon from the bridge, and noticed a milestone on the south side of the road.  I was in a hurry so didn’t stop, but went back in early July, half expecting it to be completely subsumed into the hedge that stood behind it, but not a chance.  Someone is looking after it beautifully (with thanks).  It’s What3Words location is ///warned.tower.mascots, which you can see on a map at https://what3words.com/warned.tower.mascots.

 

 

Sources:

Books and papers

Benford, M. 2002. Milestones.  Shire Publications

Crosby, A.G. 2012.  New Roads for Old. Cheshire Turnpikes in the Landscape 1700-1850.  In (eds.) Varey, S.M. and White, G.J. Landscape History Discoveries in the North West.  University of Chester Press, p.190-223.

Local Government Act 1888 (51 and 52 Vict. c.41). Section 97, Saving as to liability for main roads.

Wright, G. N. 1992. Turnpike Roads. Shire Publications Ltd.

Websites

Milestone Society Restorations in Cheshire 2008-2009
The Milestone Society
https://www.milestonesociety.co.uk/archives/Downloads/In%202008%208-Cheshire%20County%20Council%20Highways%20Services%20were%20suc..pdf 

Turnpike Roads in England and Wales
Turnpikes.org.uk
http://www.turnpikes.org.uk/Tollhouse%20design.htm