Monument record 1794/1 - Shocklach Castle (Motte)

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ45 SW4 1976 (Index). SCH2487.

A well-preserved motte, situated on the edge of a steep ravine. The mound rises 4m above the bottom of the ditch, which has a counterscarp bank. It is located on the west side of the road from Farndon to Worthenbury (DJC 16/03/1976).

<2> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol.II p.689 (Book). SCH1389.

Shocklach formed an important link in the chain of Cheshire castles between Aldford and Malpas and may have still been "in repair" as late as 1502. The earthworks of the keep are still very strong, and occupy an important pass, near the church, where the present road to Chester crosses a deep ravine, watered by a small brook. The works are like those of Pulford; the brook and ravine, winding in a semicircular form, make a strong defence on the north-west, and a huge mound, also semicircular, completes the lines to the south and cast, being about ten yards in width on the summit, but much wider at the base, and very much extended where the ends meet the bank of the ravine. In the centre is the mound, which once formed the basis of the great tower of the Norman Keep.

<3> Mackenzie J D, 1896, The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure. Volume II, p.179 (Book). SCH3090.

Shocklach was a Welsh frontier fortress forming an important link in the chain of Cheshire castles between Aldford and Malpas. Lord Dudley claimed the right in the 15th year of Henry VIIs reign to maintain this castle fortified, ditched and crenellated. The earthworks were very strong, occupying an important pass where the present road crosses a deep ravine. On the western side of the road is a very early circular mound 20 feet high, on top of which the Normans placed their keep. No vestigies of masonry remain.

<4> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Turner R C 1986 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

A visit in 1986 showed the top of the motte to be badly disturbed by recent illegal digging and the collapse of many mature trees.

<5> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment), 13422 (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

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 consists of a well preserved motte 4-5m high and a D-shaped moated enclosure separated by a small tributary of the River Dee and also a modern minor road. The motte, which lies in the loop of the stream offering defence to the north and west, is protected by a partly waterlogged/silted ditch on its south-western, southern and eastern sides, beyond which is an outer bank. There is no evidence of a bailey immediately attached to this motte. However, 30m to the east lies a D-shaped moated enclosure measuring 54m west to east and surrounded on all sides except the south by a dry ditch. A causeway crosses the ditch and gives access to the platform at the north-east. Earthworks consisting of banks and a ditch are conspicuous on the platform. The monument was originally constructed by the Barons of Malpas c.1100 in an attempt to protect the region from frequent Welsh raids.

<6> Swallow, R, 2013, Two for One: The Archaeological Survey of Shocklach Castle, Cheshire (Article in Journal). SCH7798.

A 1984 earthwork survey shows the motte with an outer bank to the south, which is too small to have served as a bailey. Traces of a ditch can be seen on all sides of the motte, except to the north, where it is reinforced by the stream gorge. Shocklach castle owed suit and service to the superior manor of Malpas. Although Shocklach is not listed as an early castle in the Welsh March, in 1121 the Welsh burned two castles, which are generally accepted to be those of Shocklach and Malpas. Documentary sources indicate that Shocklach castle had a defensive function until the latter part of the fourteenth century. There is no trace of a bailey at Oldcastle (CHER 1699/1) or at the western motte at Shocklach and both have a very similar location, that being a long spur running within a loop of a brook, which provided a natural defence on three sides. The site on the east of the road may be a latter addition of a bailey, or the site of Lord Dudley’s fortified manor house. It is unlikely that that one of the mottes is a siege motte, due to the close proximity of the two sites. However, the location of the two sites, either side of the road and the township boundary, probably represent two separate castles with the lords of both castles wanting a stake in the revenues of the recorded toll gate.

<7> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT 355/2 1839 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

<8> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Edwards R, 09/11/2016 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

The tithe award (7) records the name of the plot which contains the motte as Windmill Hill, suggesting the possible re-use of the motte as the site of a windmill.

<9> County Historic Environment Record, 1973-1985, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin, No.9 p.61 (Journal/Periodical). SCH565.

Local opinion has it that the mill was situated on the castle motte in Castletown Rough.

<10> Chapel Archaeology CIC, 2019, Archaeology Resistivity Survey: Shocklach Motte, R4311 (Client Report). SCH8696.

A resistivity survey of Shocklach Motte was carried out on the 4th December 2018 as part of Chapel Archaeology’s Heritage Lottery funded project on the village of Shocklach in Cheshire. The objective of the survey was to identify any structural evidence in the motte. The primary interest of the project is the connection between this site, the adjacent moated enclosure and the isolated medieval church of St. Edith’s.

The site is thickly wooded and very disturbed by animal, and possibly human, digging. This, together with steep slopes prevented a major resistivity survey. However, a small area (10m by 6m) was identified as a possible site for an exploratory survey, not on the motte but on the inner face of the outer bank. However, no identifiable features were identified, potentially as might be expected, with such a small survey area and the very disturbed nature of the ground.

<11> Cheshire Historic Environment Record, 1989, Jill Collens' Aerial Photographs, 6.0517-8 (Aerial Photograph). SCH9711.