History of Shrewsbury The Normans Shrewsbury Castle Lauras Tower - Pt 4

Transription: THE HISTORY OF SHREWSBURY PART 4: THE NORMANS

When the Normans occupied Shrewsbury, they did as they had done elsewhere.

'A time of invasion and battle fortifications'.

They found a suitable site from which to dominate the town, dug a circular moat.

This image shows the type of moat thought to be similar (this one is not in  Shrewsbury).

They threw the earth into the centre to form a mound, (This picture is of 'The Moat' in Dundonald, for example.)

and on that mound they erected a wooden Keep.

(This picture shows an archaeological reconstruction in France of a wooden Norman keep.)

The site they chose (which may have looked similar to this slide), is now occupied by Laura's Tower.

This is the modern-day Laura's Tower.

The commanding view meant that the Normans could easily watch for enemies.

Imagine the view without the castle.

TRUST ME! That did not exist at the time. Keep watching! Explained later.

Here is another shot of the present Laura's Tower.

In order to secure his borders against the Welsh, William the Conqueror gave enormous powers to three of his followers.

They became the Palatinate Earls of Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford.

(This is a portrait of William the Conquerer.)

Roger of Montgomery, a kinsman of the Conqueror, was created the first Earl of Shrewsbury in 1074.

And, he immediately began rebuilding the original wooden castle.

By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, he had swept away 51 houses, to make room for a much more substantial Castle, including the secure walled area of an 'inner bailey'.

And, a further fifty houses had been demolished near the Castle to create a vast 'outer bailey',

which stretched right down to present-day Castle Street.

The Norman gateway is the only part of Earl Roger's original building which still survives.

BUT, you won't believe this! Shrewsbury Castle LOOKS INCREDIBLY ancient, but isn't Norman, & wasn't started until c1300.

Now. watch out for the History of Shrewsbury, Part 5 - coming soon!

The Story Of Shrewsbury - Part 2 From Pengwern to Scrobbes-byrig. Anglo-Saxon Shrewsbury

This "Story of Shrewsbury" video is about the period just after he first settlers arrived in Shrewsbury.

When the citizens of Wroxeter settled in what we now call Shrewsbury, they called their new town Pengwern.

Pengwern means simply "the fenced-in hill-top with Alders". So, it was here that the Britons stayed and since it commanded the River Severn whose board valley provide done of the only safe means of passage into the mountains of Wales, it grew in importance.

You can also view this on the YouTube website here.

The importance of the strategic position of Pengwern was soon recognised.

In the year 617 Briochel Yscithrog, King of Powys, which at that time included a large part of modern-day Shropshire, chose Pengwern as his capital. The connection continued and his descendents ruled from the town until about 760.

Part 3 The Story of Saxon Shrewsbury Up to 1066 and All That

Pt. 3 - Saxon Shrewsbury Up to 1066 and All That!

Scrobbes-byrig (Shrewsbury) flourished as a Saxon town.

It had its own mint in the early 900s, during the reign of King Alfred's son Edward the Elder.

The mint produced coins for the Saxon kings, and, in 2015 the Shropshire Star reported on an auction of one of the coins. 

This coin, worth a penny when it was created in Shrewsbury more than 1,000 years ago, was sold for more than £500 in 2015.

The mint had closed by the time of the Norman invasion in 1066.

In 1006 the Kingdom of Pengwern was organised into "shires" (smaller areas of administration). and "Scrobbesbyrigscire" (Shropshire), was created.

So, even in 1006, people were still evidently talking about the "town of scrubby bushes" (Scrobbes-byrig) for many years to come.

...That's quite a tongue-twister! Try saying it out loud. NOW!

AND, it gets worse!

...You got it! They even named the whole COUNTY after those "scrubby bushes" (alders)!

That happened when "Scrobbesbyrigscire", became the County name of what we now call "Shropshire".

Moving on to a new subject.

The County Sheriff was a powerful man, and acted on behalf of the king.

He had the authority to collect taxes and raise armies for attacks into Wales.

He was also responsible for enforcing law and order.

Presumably attacking Wales was a perfectly respectable thing, in those days!

Maybe, it was tit for tat?

Also in 1006 King "Aethelred the Unready" spent the winter in Shrewsbury.

Translation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles states "Unready" to mean “poor counsel”, “evil counsel” or “unwise".

By the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 the town was important enough to be called a city, and Included within its walls four churches and two hundred and fifty-two houses. But, it's was still only the size of one average housing estate!

Historical Text from: The Story of Shrewsbury, R. Graves, Hardwick House, Ellesmere 1993.

And, www.shropshire history.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgStNKgiYZuxQXqwHujxLew