Stafford Town Defences

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; East Gate; Green Gate; North Gate; Goal Gate; West Gate

In the civil parish of Stafford.
In the historic county of Staffordshire (Modern Authority of Staffordshire, 1974 county of Staffordshire).

Scant remains of C13 stone wall, which, with ditch, marshes, river and earthbanks, made Stafford medieval town defences. Grant of timber made in 1215 and first murage granted in 1224. Built to replace those of the Anglo Saxon burh (which may have enclosed a smaller area) Refortified during the Civil War, raised in 1643, the walls were in ruins by the 1670s. PastScape also reports sites of four town gates of which traces remain of one, though not in situ. Note especially medieval north gate (SJ92082353) which by C17 it was in use as a prison and was known as Gaol Gate and was ruinous by 1678 and which is sometimes confused with the Domesday King's Castle (qv)

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ923234

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 77479, 619405, 77551, 77552, 77553

Books

Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p40, 88, 170, 235, 237, 266
Salter, Mike, 1997, Castles and Moated Mansions of Staffordshire (Malvern) p47
Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p453
Carver, Martin, 1981, Underneath Stafford town: an archaeological assessment
Greenslade, M.W. and Johnson, D.A. (eds), 1979, VCH Staffordshire Vol6 p199
Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71
Pevsner, N., 1974, The Buildings of England: Staffordshire (London, Penguin) p245
Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London)
Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p34-5
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co) p225
Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p531

Journal Articles

Beckett, J.H., 1928-9, North Staffordshire Field Club transactions p63, 148
Garbett, H.L.E., 1923-4, North Staffordshire Field Club transactions Vol58 p56-8
Davies, J.T., 1919, Birmingham Archaeological Society transactions Vol45 p133-51

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities27.htm]

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

¤¤¤¤¤