Keele University Martin Docksey
MA in Local History
The rise and fall of Staffordshire’s Forgotten Borough and Castle
Introduction
All historical inquiry could be said to be a voyage of discovery and this essay is just such a voyage. In its beginnings it was to be about Norton in the Moors its history, growth and development from Anglo-Saxon times, up to late medieval times. As the voyage began however, strong winds and currents took the essay in an altogether different direction. The manor of Norton in the Moors in medieval times had a close association with certain other manors such as Aston, Weston and Maer etc. In the period after the Domesday Book; they represented the remnants of the pre-conquest manors of Wulfgreat[1] (Ulviet) [2]an Anglo-Saxon thegn and survivor. These remnants represented a small part of his pre-conquest manors in Staffordshire, 17 in total. The pre-conquest manors that included Norton in the Moors appeared to center on Maer where we may presume Wulfgreat lived, as his decedents the de Mere family[3] certainly continued to live there after 1086.[4] It is however likely that despite Wulfgreat’s large land holdings that he was the sub-tenant of a more even more powerful lord, possibly the Earl of Mercia.
The Parochia
Dr Tringham suggested in his essay on pre-conquest Leek[5] that large parochia and unitary manors center on, an ecclesiastical center and also an administrative center. How could this situation apply to any such parochia of which Norton in the Moors was a part? Norton in the Moors going by place name evidence alone North-tun[6] may have been the most northerly settlement of just such a parochia. It is most likely that this parochia would be based on the church at Stoke, St Peters ad Vincular. The place name Stoke (Stoc) in this situation is believed to mean an ancient religious place.[7] There were only two churches mentioned in the Domesday Book in Staffordshire,[8] they were Tettenhall and Stoke, a half interest in the later was held before the conquest with the manor of Caverswall by the same Wulfgreat. Though there was no mention of the other half, we could however speculate that Godric would have a half share as he had in many of Wulfgreats manors including Norton in the Moors. At Stoke St Peters there is evidence of Anglo-Saxon times in the form of a cross shaft and a font, the former said to date from around 800 AD.[9] John Ward in his history mused on the large size of the Stoke ecclesiastical division and suggested it was once much larger still.[10]
The Forgotten Borough
The boundaries of these parochia are thought to largely correspond with large unitary manors held by important Anglo-Saxon thanes.[11] Norton in the Moors may also have been a northerly part of a large unitary manor, which by the time of the Domesday Book would have undergone significant fragmentation. This fragmentation was very expedient of the King denying subordinates a power base. Since such a large unitary manor would have had an administrative center with we may presume a market, the most obvious center of this type would have been Newcastle.[12] Newcastle though was thought to be only a fledgling town at the time of Domesday[13] and may not have existed prior to the conquest, this means we may have to look elsewhere. The close association of Norton in the Moors with Maer and Maer being the seat of the lord of the post-conquest manors leads thoughts to this being the administrative and market center of this unitary manor. Some place name evidence for this being the case is provided by a nearby hamlet called Broughton, a breakdown of the name Broughton would be Borough-ton which suggests a significant town, and perhaps an association with a Burh (Anglo-Saxon fortification) from which the word Borough is derived.
These Burhs were often ninth or tenth century fortified towns on the frontier of the Danish held territories of Mercia. Fortified or often re-fortified in the reign of Alfred the great, and his daughter AEthelflaed who was in effect the queen of Mercia. AEthelflaed is recorded as having built a burh at “Stafford” in 913 AD[14] and these burhs were fundamental to the re-conquest of those Danish held Mercian territories.[15] These Burhs also often redeployed older established fortifications, such as Iron Age hill forts,[16] which were repaired and modernized and had further fortifications built upon their ramparts. Just such an Iron Age hill fort exists immediately north of Maer called Berth Hill, said to be one of the best examples of its type.[17] Sampson Erdeswick said in 1559, “This hill (Berth Hill) is to this day called the Bourgh which also argueth that some ancient town hath been there builded”[18] Berth Hill is of cause derived from Burh Hill.
The Legends
There are many legends associated to this area in the mid Anglo-Saxon period, centering on the hill fort. King Pender of Mercia in 642 AD is reputed to have fought a battle with the Northumbrians in which their King Oswald (St Oswald) was killed. According to Bede this battle was at Maserfelth which Stenton tentatively identifies with Oswestry,[19] Maerfield gate is to be found on the map[20] to the east of the hill fort and may substantiate this legend. There is another legend of a battle in 679 AD between Penders son EAthelred and Oswalds grandson Ecgfrith, who was defeated in what has become known as the battle of the Trent.[21] In yet another local legend Coenred King of the Mercians was said to have defeated the Nurthumbian King Osred in 716 AD at the hill fort / burh.[22] Coenred was buried at Litchfield as was EAthelred before him; this EAthelred was the brother of another local legendary figure Wulfhere. It would seem the hill fort at Maer was again on a frontier, this time between Mercia and Northhumbria. North Mercian territories were annexed by an expansive Northhumbria during the seventh century.[23]
The fact that the hill fort, Maer and Broughton are all adjacent to a paved Roman Road discovered at Maerway in 1813 running from Woxeter near Shrewsbury to Chesterton suggests that a roman station perhaps Rutunium[24] also made use of the Iron Age hill fort. This points to its continual use throughout many if not all of the periods of our history from before the Iron Age onward.
Hereborgstone Wasta Est
Looking again at Broghton for further place name evidence “This was Burghton in 1281, Borghton in 1317, and these spellings show that it is Burhtun, not Broctun like most names with the modern form Broughton”.[25] Broughton has now been identified with the Doomsday Book Hereborgestone, in which the Saxon prefix seems to be here “army”.[26] Army being so fresh in the memory of the compilers of the Domesday Book may lead us to believe that Hereborgestone (Army-Borough-ton) was an army base before the conquest and perhaps confirms suspicion that it was an Alfredain or AEthelflaedian burh. There are three AEthelflaedian burhs that have never been identified Bremesburh, Weardburh and Scergreat.[27] The present site of Broughton does not show any signs of having been a town but this may not have been the site of the original Broughton. The likelihood is that it was originally within the Burh itself.
The Domesday Book shows much of this area around the hill fort / burh is still wasted in 1086, (see map Staffordshire waste in 1086[28]) Broughton (perhaps within the hill fort) was one of this clutch of wasted vills. Some traditionalists believe the land was somehow still, after 16 years physically laid to waste and perhaps returned to the wild. Others believe that there was a multitude of reasons behind the category of waste. The waste probably however amounts to areas depopulated during the harrying of the north campaigns, of William the conqueror following the rebellions of 1069-70. The harrying campaign of 1069-70 saw crops spoiled, livestock carried away, farm implements and indeed farmsteads burned to the ground[29] and the land around areas of resistance depopulated and in the case of Staffordshire in mid winter. Let’s not forget the usual scenario for any country or region involved in a civil war is one of implosion. In the wake of sword and flame comes famine and disease and the result of all this would be depopulation. Repopulation of whole areas would be difficult in these times because most of the population would have been bonded to a lord and a manor.
The harrying
The waste around the area of Maer and the hill fort however appears very concentrated and Pirehill Hundred with 30 locations made up nearly 40% of the waste in Staffordshire.[30] In the waste vills we may be seeing the footprints of the Conquerors army, finally crushing the last remnants of Mercian Anglo-Saxon resistance taking refuge at “Hereborgestone”. Staffordshire was the only place that King William was moved to visit himself, not once but twice during this period of rebellion, preferring to send his trusted generals on other occasions to other places
King William crossed the Penines in January 1070 from Yorkshire in an almost unprecedented forced march in the depths of winter, with the mercenary elements of his forces on the brink of mutiny.[31] It is reputed that Williams’s army approached “Stafford” for this the second time from Chester and could have done so via what was to become Earls way to Leek and the old Roman Road via Chesterton. Moving against his enemies and the native population with absolute savagery, leaving only scorched earth in his wake.[32] Using this approach he would not have to cross the River Trent if he had to enter Stafford town. William and his army caught up with the remnants of the Mercian army and put them down “by the power of the royal army”.[33] These remnants of the Mercian forces could have based themselves for the winter at the AEthelflaedian Burh on the old hill fort. Over the winter it would have been able to accommodate more than a thousand men, their horses, equipment and stores on the nine acres at the top of the hill fort. [34] The likelihood is however that they had no stores because of King Williams’s previous visit some months before. This winters weather could however have proved the Mercian’s downfall if the Burh’s water defenses were frozen solid prompting William the conquers return and easy victory. The Mercian’s were perhaps routed at the nearby War Hill or Red Hill or both, believing they were safe until the spring at least. The heavy concentration of the wasted vills around this area and to the south around Eccleshall could be indication of an involvement of the Bishop of Chester with the rebels. Further concentrated devastation was wreaked around the Litchfield area, which were also manors belonging to the Bishop, and on the route William could have taken on his return south. Oderic hints at some kind of ecclesiastical participation.[35]
The “Royal” Castle
As far as the captured Burh was concerned, there would have been a need to hold down this stronghold of the resistance movement. Too big for a small Norman garrison to occupy and possibly lacking the timber required for a Norman style keep, a new Motte and Bailey castle would be required to watch over the old and now finally redundant burh. This Motte and Bailey castle was the first to be built in Staffordshire (1070)[36] and was soon abandoned (destroyed by 1086)[37] as the vill’s around it remained depopulated and were possibly kept depopulated. After the abandonment of this Norman castle, two other Norman castles were to be built the first at Stafford just outside the town, and the other at Newcastle under Lyme. The old Borough town was to re-emerge 5 or 6 miles to the North East at this “New castle” some time between the conquest and the Domesday Book and outside of the depopulated zone close to the same Roman Road. The “old” castle to which the “New” refers to could be the Iron Age hill fort / burh or it could be the “conquest” motte and bailey castle that watched over it for a short time. This Motte and Bailey castle still exists as the evocative “Kings bank” just north of the old hill fort (see photo sheets.).[38] Erdswick said “A large steep hill which hath been fortified with a great double trench and a very thick wall, whereof some ruins yet remain”.[39] Here a relatively modest garrison could watch the old fort in relative safety and make sure it would not be reoccupied. Kings Bank was thought to have been a burial mound or barrow[40] and was also referred to as a lookout post[41]after archaeological investigation showed now sign of a burial. Kings Bank was only a fledgling motte and bailey castle, built and abandoned within the sixteen years between the rebellion and the Domesday Book. It was not at all developed in the way that many of the surviving examples were. These castles were in effect engines of the conquest, purely functional and were well depicted in the Bayeux tapestry.[42] Two such castles were built in the days between the Normans landing at Pevensey Bay and the battle of Hastings.[43]
The first “Royal” castle in Staffordshire was always been thought to have been at Stafford town but it now seems to have been (tra de Stadford) “land concerning Stafford” rather than in the town it’s self. “Chebsey; to this manor belonged “Stafford land” on which the King ordered a castle to be made; it has now been destroyed”[44] so said the Domesday Book about Henry de Ferrers manor of Chebsey. Henry de Ferrers is believed to have been a veteran of the battle of Hastings and was later to be a Domesday Book commissioner in Worcestershire.[45] Chebsey appeared much larger than it is today and had a relatively large population and a priest who could have been the castle chaplain. There was also someone called Humphrey who was not mentioned elsewhere in the Staffordshire Domesday, a sub-feudatory of de Ferrers who may have been the constable of the castle. Chebsey could have been the manor given to the castle to supply it with food etc.
Monetvill
If the “Royal” castle was at Kings Bank then that begs the question where was the lost town of Monetvile which may translate from French to mont-ville mountain village?[46] This “mountain” could well be reference to the hill fort, the Norman motte or the area around Maer Hills in general, and Monetvile is most likely the Norman name for Broughton. Monetvile was most likely within outer bailey of the castle and would fade away as Newcastle began to grow. Another interesting part of the Domesday entry for Monetvile is that it gives the pre-conquest holder as being Earl Edwin the Anglo-Saxon earl of Mercia. So that would make the burh Hereborgstone the province of the Earl. Earl Edwin is reputed to have been killed by his own men, having not taken part in the rebellions himself and trying to escape to Scotland in 1071.[47]
Conclusion
The development of the area around Maer during the Iron Age, Anglo-Saxon and Norman times was dominated by conflict of one sort or another. Defense would have been upper most in the psyche, of the Iron Age people who built the enormous triple ramparts of the hill fort. In its early Iron Age history the conflicts may have been relatively local and tribal in nature. Later during the Roman period the building of reliable road networks perhaps based on previous ancient trackways required stations to be positioned between the large towns, to allow traveling armies and other travelers to change horses, eat and sleep in a secure environment. After the Romans left, the “Britain’s” often returned to the hill forts[48] as the Anglo-Saxon tribes began to arrive. In the mid Saxon period the burh / fortress served in the defense of pagan Mercia against an expansive Christian Northumberland. And in the late Saxon period these burhs were used as a springboard for re-conquest of the Danish held territories. During the post-conquest rebellions the Burh may well have been a place of last resort for Mercian forces, still in arms and attempting to regroup when the Norman army fell upon them.[49] King William saw the value of this fortress for himself, possibly twice and knew he had to ensure it was never used again. He replaced it with the “modern state of the art” Motte and Bailey castle a design he knew and trusted. The land around it was kept depopulated for a generation so it could never again support a rebellion, and the memory of the old town and castle was all but extinguished
The fortifications at Maer were strategically situated to the west of the Trent and to the east of the Tern, Severn and Sow. If it was necessary to enter Stafford town from the north, the River Trent would not need to be crossed, and the approach to Shrewsbury from the north would not be encumbered by the River Severn. Travel in a North South direction may have been very difficult due to the east-west line of water Black Brook, Lower Bogs, The Bogs and Maer Pool, except by this one route, in fact it could have been a bottle neck. The means of travel down the ages would have been controlled by fortresses like these, and in times of war they would have controlled the movement of armies. The people who controlled the fortresses and therefore travel could put themselves in position to win these conflicts and in some instances take an aggressive conquering stance
Much of the continuity illuminated by this essay could be confirmed by another archaeological investigation of Kings Bank, its moat and the outer bailey where Monetville perhaps stood. There is still some doubt about what the Anglo-Saxon town was called; perhaps the Domesday Herebroghton would be the best estimate.
The present forestry and drainage was completed by Josiah Wedgwood II, son of the famed Josiah in the early 1800s.[50] His energetic remodeling of his estate, left several chapters of Staffordshire history shrouded in woodland, not least Staffordshire’s forgotten Borough and Castle, and now also Norton in the Moors which this essay and voyage was originally to have been about.
Bibliography John Morris Ed, Domesday Book Staffordshire, Phillimore, Chichester, 1976
Staffordshire County Council, Domesday Book for Staffordshire, Local History Source Book No 10,
DV Mayer, Notes on the “de Mere” Family of Feudal North Staffordshire, Staffordshire History, Vol 21 1995,
Nigel Tringham, Leek before the Conquest, Essays in the honour of Michael Greenslade, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Seriers vol 19, 1999, Keele University,
WH Duignan, Notes on Staffordshire Place Names, Oxford University Press, 1902,
Robert Mountford, Stoke –“Holy Place on the Trent” ,Lifelines Christian Newspaper, December 2003,
John Ward, History of the Borough of Stoke on Trent 1843, republished by SR Publishers Ltd, Wakefield, 1969,
DM Palisser AC Pinnock, The Markets of Medieval Staffordshire, North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies, 11 (1971)
Robin Studd, Medieval Newcastle under Lyme a hidden Domesday Borough? Staffordshire Studies volIII, University of Keele, 1990/1,
Michael Swaton Ed, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Phoenix Press, 1996,
DM Palliser, The making of the Staffordshire Landscape, Hodder and Stoughton, 1976,
Richard Hodges, The Anglo-Saxon Achievement, Duckworth, 1989,
Harnaman, Way of the Beaton Track, Six Towns Magazine, June 1967,
Samson Erdswick, A Servey of Staffordshire, JB Nichols and Son,1844,
Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1971,
Margret Gelling, Some Thoughts on Staffordshire Place-Names, North Staffordshire Jurnal of Field Studies, vol 21, 1981,
Tim Cockin, Staffordshire Encyclopedia, Malthouse Press, Stoke on Trent, 200,
P Wheatley, in The Domesday Geography of Midland England, Chapter IV Staffordshire, Cambridge University Press, 1971,
Freeman, The History of the Norman Conquest, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1867,
Victoria County History of Stafford, vol 1, Archibold and Constable co ltd, 1900
Robin Studd, Recorded Waste in the Staffordshire Domesday Entry, Staffordshire Studies vol12 2000, University of Keele,
GJV Bemrose, Archaeology and History, North Staffordshire Field Club Transactions, vol 73, 1938 Allison and Bowen,
FJ Moxon, Old North Staffordshire, Keele University Library,
Paul Butters, Stafford the Story of a Thousand Years, Crescent Publishing, Tamworth, 1979,
Michael Wood, Domesday a Search for the Roots of England, Book Club Associates, Chatham, 1987,
A Description of Maer, 1812,
[1] John Morris Ed, Domesday Book Staffordshire, Phillimore, Chichester, 1976, 248d, 249a
[2] Staffordshire County Council, Domesday Book for Staffordshire, Local History Source Book No 10, 21
[3] DV Mayer, Notes on the “de Mere” Family of Feudal North Staffordshire, Staffordshire History, Vol 21 1995, 3
[4] DV Mayer, 1
[5] Nigel Tringham, Leek before the Conquest, Essays in the honour of Michael Greenslade, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Seriers vol 19, 1999, Keele University, 5
[6] WH Duignan, Notes on Staffordshire Place Names, Oxford University Press, 1902, 1902, 108
[7] John Ward, 448
[8] John Morris, 249b
[9] Robert Mountford, Stoke –“Holy Place on the Trent” ,Lifelines Christian Newspaper, December 2003, 6
[10] John Ward, History of the Borough of Stoke on Trent 1843, republished by SR Publishers Ltd, Wakefield, 1969, 447
[11] Nigel Tringham, 10
[12] DM Palisser and AC Pinnock, The Markets of Medieval Staffordshire, North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies, vol II, 1971, 55
[13] Robin Studd, Medieval Newcastle under Lyme a hidden Domesday Borough? Staffordshire Studies volIII, University of Keele, 1990/1, 17
[14] Michael Swaton Ed, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Phoenix Press, 1996, 96
[15] DM Palliser, The making of the Staffordshire Landscape, Hodder and Stoughton, 1976, 50
[16] Richard Hodges, The Anglo-Saxon Achievement, Duckworth, 1989, 32
[17] G Harnaman, Way of the Beaton Track, Six Towns Magazine, June 1967, 12
[18] Samson Erdswick, A Servey of Staffordshire, JB Nichols and Son,1844, 116
[19] Frank Stenton, 82
[20] Ordnance Survey Map, Explorer, 243
[21] Frank Stenton , 85
[22] Tim Cockin, 380
[23] Frank Stenton, 85
[24] John Ward, 8
[25] Margret Gelling, Some Thoughts on Staffordshire Place-Names, North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies, vol 21, 1981, 18
[26] Margret Gelling, 18
[27] Frank Stenton, 326
[28] P Wheatly, in The Domesday Geography of Midland England, Chapter IV Staffordshire, Cambridge University Press,1971, 203
[29] Thomas Forester, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis, Henry Bohn, vol II, 1854, 28
[30] Robin Studd, 5
[31] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 30
[32] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 28
[33] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 31
[34] Charles Lynam, Victoria County History of Stafford, vol 1, Archibold and Constable co ltd, 1908, 340
[35] Robin Studd, Recorded Waste in the Staffordshire Domesday Entry, Staffordshire Studies vol12 2000, University of Keele, 2
[36] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 31
[37] John Morris, 248 c,d
[38] Ordnance Survey Map, Explorer, 243,
[39] Erdswick, 116
[40] GJV Bemrose, Archaeology and History, North Staffordshire Field Club Transactions, vol 73, 1938 Allison and Bowen, 114
[41] GJV Bemrose, 114
[42] See cover page,
[43] Frank Stenton, 591
[44] Morris, 248 c,d
[45] FJ Moxon, Old North Staffordshire, Keele University Library, 1972, 433
[46] Stafford Castle a brief history, Stafford Borough Council, WM Print, Walsall, 3
[47] Frank Stenton, 606
[48]Michael Wood, Domesday a Search for the Roots of England, Book Club Associates, Chatham,1987, 72
[49] Margret Gelling, 18
[50] A Description of Maer, 1812, 3
MA in Local History
The rise and fall of Staffordshire’s Forgotten Borough and Castle
Introduction
All historical inquiry could be said to be a voyage of discovery and this essay is just such a voyage. In its beginnings it was to be about Norton in the Moors its history, growth and development from Anglo-Saxon times, up to late medieval times. As the voyage began however, strong winds and currents took the essay in an altogether different direction. The manor of Norton in the Moors in medieval times had a close association with certain other manors such as Aston, Weston and Maer etc. In the period after the Domesday Book; they represented the remnants of the pre-conquest manors of Wulfgreat[1] (Ulviet) [2]an Anglo-Saxon thegn and survivor. These remnants represented a small part of his pre-conquest manors in Staffordshire, 17 in total. The pre-conquest manors that included Norton in the Moors appeared to center on Maer where we may presume Wulfgreat lived, as his decedents the de Mere family[3] certainly continued to live there after 1086.[4] It is however likely that despite Wulfgreat’s large land holdings that he was the sub-tenant of a more even more powerful lord, possibly the Earl of Mercia.
The Parochia
Dr Tringham suggested in his essay on pre-conquest Leek[5] that large parochia and unitary manors center on, an ecclesiastical center and also an administrative center. How could this situation apply to any such parochia of which Norton in the Moors was a part? Norton in the Moors going by place name evidence alone North-tun[6] may have been the most northerly settlement of just such a parochia. It is most likely that this parochia would be based on the church at Stoke, St Peters ad Vincular. The place name Stoke (Stoc) in this situation is believed to mean an ancient religious place.[7] There were only two churches mentioned in the Domesday Book in Staffordshire,[8] they were Tettenhall and Stoke, a half interest in the later was held before the conquest with the manor of Caverswall by the same Wulfgreat. Though there was no mention of the other half, we could however speculate that Godric would have a half share as he had in many of Wulfgreats manors including Norton in the Moors. At Stoke St Peters there is evidence of Anglo-Saxon times in the form of a cross shaft and a font, the former said to date from around 800 AD.[9] John Ward in his history mused on the large size of the Stoke ecclesiastical division and suggested it was once much larger still.[10]
The Forgotten Borough
The boundaries of these parochia are thought to largely correspond with large unitary manors held by important Anglo-Saxon thanes.[11] Norton in the Moors may also have been a northerly part of a large unitary manor, which by the time of the Domesday Book would have undergone significant fragmentation. This fragmentation was very expedient of the King denying subordinates a power base. Since such a large unitary manor would have had an administrative center with we may presume a market, the most obvious center of this type would have been Newcastle.[12] Newcastle though was thought to be only a fledgling town at the time of Domesday[13] and may not have existed prior to the conquest, this means we may have to look elsewhere. The close association of Norton in the Moors with Maer and Maer being the seat of the lord of the post-conquest manors leads thoughts to this being the administrative and market center of this unitary manor. Some place name evidence for this being the case is provided by a nearby hamlet called Broughton, a breakdown of the name Broughton would be Borough-ton which suggests a significant town, and perhaps an association with a Burh (Anglo-Saxon fortification) from which the word Borough is derived.
These Burhs were often ninth or tenth century fortified towns on the frontier of the Danish held territories of Mercia. Fortified or often re-fortified in the reign of Alfred the great, and his daughter AEthelflaed who was in effect the queen of Mercia. AEthelflaed is recorded as having built a burh at “Stafford” in 913 AD[14] and these burhs were fundamental to the re-conquest of those Danish held Mercian territories.[15] These Burhs also often redeployed older established fortifications, such as Iron Age hill forts,[16] which were repaired and modernized and had further fortifications built upon their ramparts. Just such an Iron Age hill fort exists immediately north of Maer called Berth Hill, said to be one of the best examples of its type.[17] Sampson Erdeswick said in 1559, “This hill (Berth Hill) is to this day called the Bourgh which also argueth that some ancient town hath been there builded”[18] Berth Hill is of cause derived from Burh Hill.
The Legends
There are many legends associated to this area in the mid Anglo-Saxon period, centering on the hill fort. King Pender of Mercia in 642 AD is reputed to have fought a battle with the Northumbrians in which their King Oswald (St Oswald) was killed. According to Bede this battle was at Maserfelth which Stenton tentatively identifies with Oswestry,[19] Maerfield gate is to be found on the map[20] to the east of the hill fort and may substantiate this legend. There is another legend of a battle in 679 AD between Penders son EAthelred and Oswalds grandson Ecgfrith, who was defeated in what has become known as the battle of the Trent.[21] In yet another local legend Coenred King of the Mercians was said to have defeated the Nurthumbian King Osred in 716 AD at the hill fort / burh.[22] Coenred was buried at Litchfield as was EAthelred before him; this EAthelred was the brother of another local legendary figure Wulfhere. It would seem the hill fort at Maer was again on a frontier, this time between Mercia and Northhumbria. North Mercian territories were annexed by an expansive Northhumbria during the seventh century.[23]
The fact that the hill fort, Maer and Broughton are all adjacent to a paved Roman Road discovered at Maerway in 1813 running from Woxeter near Shrewsbury to Chesterton suggests that a roman station perhaps Rutunium[24] also made use of the Iron Age hill fort. This points to its continual use throughout many if not all of the periods of our history from before the Iron Age onward.
Hereborgstone Wasta Est
Looking again at Broghton for further place name evidence “This was Burghton in 1281, Borghton in 1317, and these spellings show that it is Burhtun, not Broctun like most names with the modern form Broughton”.[25] Broughton has now been identified with the Doomsday Book Hereborgestone, in which the Saxon prefix seems to be here “army”.[26] Army being so fresh in the memory of the compilers of the Domesday Book may lead us to believe that Hereborgestone (Army-Borough-ton) was an army base before the conquest and perhaps confirms suspicion that it was an Alfredain or AEthelflaedian burh. There are three AEthelflaedian burhs that have never been identified Bremesburh, Weardburh and Scergreat.[27] The present site of Broughton does not show any signs of having been a town but this may not have been the site of the original Broughton. The likelihood is that it was originally within the Burh itself.
The Domesday Book shows much of this area around the hill fort / burh is still wasted in 1086, (see map Staffordshire waste in 1086[28]) Broughton (perhaps within the hill fort) was one of this clutch of wasted vills. Some traditionalists believe the land was somehow still, after 16 years physically laid to waste and perhaps returned to the wild. Others believe that there was a multitude of reasons behind the category of waste. The waste probably however amounts to areas depopulated during the harrying of the north campaigns, of William the conqueror following the rebellions of 1069-70. The harrying campaign of 1069-70 saw crops spoiled, livestock carried away, farm implements and indeed farmsteads burned to the ground[29] and the land around areas of resistance depopulated and in the case of Staffordshire in mid winter. Let’s not forget the usual scenario for any country or region involved in a civil war is one of implosion. In the wake of sword and flame comes famine and disease and the result of all this would be depopulation. Repopulation of whole areas would be difficult in these times because most of the population would have been bonded to a lord and a manor.
The harrying
The waste around the area of Maer and the hill fort however appears very concentrated and Pirehill Hundred with 30 locations made up nearly 40% of the waste in Staffordshire.[30] In the waste vills we may be seeing the footprints of the Conquerors army, finally crushing the last remnants of Mercian Anglo-Saxon resistance taking refuge at “Hereborgestone”. Staffordshire was the only place that King William was moved to visit himself, not once but twice during this period of rebellion, preferring to send his trusted generals on other occasions to other places
King William crossed the Penines in January 1070 from Yorkshire in an almost unprecedented forced march in the depths of winter, with the mercenary elements of his forces on the brink of mutiny.[31] It is reputed that Williams’s army approached “Stafford” for this the second time from Chester and could have done so via what was to become Earls way to Leek and the old Roman Road via Chesterton. Moving against his enemies and the native population with absolute savagery, leaving only scorched earth in his wake.[32] Using this approach he would not have to cross the River Trent if he had to enter Stafford town. William and his army caught up with the remnants of the Mercian army and put them down “by the power of the royal army”.[33] These remnants of the Mercian forces could have based themselves for the winter at the AEthelflaedian Burh on the old hill fort. Over the winter it would have been able to accommodate more than a thousand men, their horses, equipment and stores on the nine acres at the top of the hill fort. [34] The likelihood is however that they had no stores because of King Williams’s previous visit some months before. This winters weather could however have proved the Mercian’s downfall if the Burh’s water defenses were frozen solid prompting William the conquers return and easy victory. The Mercian’s were perhaps routed at the nearby War Hill or Red Hill or both, believing they were safe until the spring at least. The heavy concentration of the wasted vills around this area and to the south around Eccleshall could be indication of an involvement of the Bishop of Chester with the rebels. Further concentrated devastation was wreaked around the Litchfield area, which were also manors belonging to the Bishop, and on the route William could have taken on his return south. Oderic hints at some kind of ecclesiastical participation.[35]
The “Royal” Castle
As far as the captured Burh was concerned, there would have been a need to hold down this stronghold of the resistance movement. Too big for a small Norman garrison to occupy and possibly lacking the timber required for a Norman style keep, a new Motte and Bailey castle would be required to watch over the old and now finally redundant burh. This Motte and Bailey castle was the first to be built in Staffordshire (1070)[36] and was soon abandoned (destroyed by 1086)[37] as the vill’s around it remained depopulated and were possibly kept depopulated. After the abandonment of this Norman castle, two other Norman castles were to be built the first at Stafford just outside the town, and the other at Newcastle under Lyme. The old Borough town was to re-emerge 5 or 6 miles to the North East at this “New castle” some time between the conquest and the Domesday Book and outside of the depopulated zone close to the same Roman Road. The “old” castle to which the “New” refers to could be the Iron Age hill fort / burh or it could be the “conquest” motte and bailey castle that watched over it for a short time. This Motte and Bailey castle still exists as the evocative “Kings bank” just north of the old hill fort (see photo sheets.).[38] Erdswick said “A large steep hill which hath been fortified with a great double trench and a very thick wall, whereof some ruins yet remain”.[39] Here a relatively modest garrison could watch the old fort in relative safety and make sure it would not be reoccupied. Kings Bank was thought to have been a burial mound or barrow[40] and was also referred to as a lookout post[41]after archaeological investigation showed now sign of a burial. Kings Bank was only a fledgling motte and bailey castle, built and abandoned within the sixteen years between the rebellion and the Domesday Book. It was not at all developed in the way that many of the surviving examples were. These castles were in effect engines of the conquest, purely functional and were well depicted in the Bayeux tapestry.[42] Two such castles were built in the days between the Normans landing at Pevensey Bay and the battle of Hastings.[43]
The first “Royal” castle in Staffordshire was always been thought to have been at Stafford town but it now seems to have been (tra de Stadford) “land concerning Stafford” rather than in the town it’s self. “Chebsey; to this manor belonged “Stafford land” on which the King ordered a castle to be made; it has now been destroyed”[44] so said the Domesday Book about Henry de Ferrers manor of Chebsey. Henry de Ferrers is believed to have been a veteran of the battle of Hastings and was later to be a Domesday Book commissioner in Worcestershire.[45] Chebsey appeared much larger than it is today and had a relatively large population and a priest who could have been the castle chaplain. There was also someone called Humphrey who was not mentioned elsewhere in the Staffordshire Domesday, a sub-feudatory of de Ferrers who may have been the constable of the castle. Chebsey could have been the manor given to the castle to supply it with food etc.
Monetvill
If the “Royal” castle was at Kings Bank then that begs the question where was the lost town of Monetvile which may translate from French to mont-ville mountain village?[46] This “mountain” could well be reference to the hill fort, the Norman motte or the area around Maer Hills in general, and Monetvile is most likely the Norman name for Broughton. Monetvile was most likely within outer bailey of the castle and would fade away as Newcastle began to grow. Another interesting part of the Domesday entry for Monetvile is that it gives the pre-conquest holder as being Earl Edwin the Anglo-Saxon earl of Mercia. So that would make the burh Hereborgstone the province of the Earl. Earl Edwin is reputed to have been killed by his own men, having not taken part in the rebellions himself and trying to escape to Scotland in 1071.[47]
Conclusion
The development of the area around Maer during the Iron Age, Anglo-Saxon and Norman times was dominated by conflict of one sort or another. Defense would have been upper most in the psyche, of the Iron Age people who built the enormous triple ramparts of the hill fort. In its early Iron Age history the conflicts may have been relatively local and tribal in nature. Later during the Roman period the building of reliable road networks perhaps based on previous ancient trackways required stations to be positioned between the large towns, to allow traveling armies and other travelers to change horses, eat and sleep in a secure environment. After the Romans left, the “Britain’s” often returned to the hill forts[48] as the Anglo-Saxon tribes began to arrive. In the mid Saxon period the burh / fortress served in the defense of pagan Mercia against an expansive Christian Northumberland. And in the late Saxon period these burhs were used as a springboard for re-conquest of the Danish held territories. During the post-conquest rebellions the Burh may well have been a place of last resort for Mercian forces, still in arms and attempting to regroup when the Norman army fell upon them.[49] King William saw the value of this fortress for himself, possibly twice and knew he had to ensure it was never used again. He replaced it with the “modern state of the art” Motte and Bailey castle a design he knew and trusted. The land around it was kept depopulated for a generation so it could never again support a rebellion, and the memory of the old town and castle was all but extinguished
The fortifications at Maer were strategically situated to the west of the Trent and to the east of the Tern, Severn and Sow. If it was necessary to enter Stafford town from the north, the River Trent would not need to be crossed, and the approach to Shrewsbury from the north would not be encumbered by the River Severn. Travel in a North South direction may have been very difficult due to the east-west line of water Black Brook, Lower Bogs, The Bogs and Maer Pool, except by this one route, in fact it could have been a bottle neck. The means of travel down the ages would have been controlled by fortresses like these, and in times of war they would have controlled the movement of armies. The people who controlled the fortresses and therefore travel could put themselves in position to win these conflicts and in some instances take an aggressive conquering stance
Much of the continuity illuminated by this essay could be confirmed by another archaeological investigation of Kings Bank, its moat and the outer bailey where Monetville perhaps stood. There is still some doubt about what the Anglo-Saxon town was called; perhaps the Domesday Herebroghton would be the best estimate.
The present forestry and drainage was completed by Josiah Wedgwood II, son of the famed Josiah in the early 1800s.[50] His energetic remodeling of his estate, left several chapters of Staffordshire history shrouded in woodland, not least Staffordshire’s forgotten Borough and Castle, and now also Norton in the Moors which this essay and voyage was originally to have been about.
Bibliography John Morris Ed, Domesday Book Staffordshire, Phillimore, Chichester, 1976
Staffordshire County Council, Domesday Book for Staffordshire, Local History Source Book No 10,
DV Mayer, Notes on the “de Mere” Family of Feudal North Staffordshire, Staffordshire History, Vol 21 1995,
Nigel Tringham, Leek before the Conquest, Essays in the honour of Michael Greenslade, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Seriers vol 19, 1999, Keele University,
WH Duignan, Notes on Staffordshire Place Names, Oxford University Press, 1902,
Robert Mountford, Stoke –“Holy Place on the Trent” ,Lifelines Christian Newspaper, December 2003,
John Ward, History of the Borough of Stoke on Trent 1843, republished by SR Publishers Ltd, Wakefield, 1969,
DM Palisser AC Pinnock, The Markets of Medieval Staffordshire, North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies, 11 (1971)
Robin Studd, Medieval Newcastle under Lyme a hidden Domesday Borough? Staffordshire Studies volIII, University of Keele, 1990/1,
Michael Swaton Ed, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Phoenix Press, 1996,
DM Palliser, The making of the Staffordshire Landscape, Hodder and Stoughton, 1976,
Richard Hodges, The Anglo-Saxon Achievement, Duckworth, 1989,
Harnaman, Way of the Beaton Track, Six Towns Magazine, June 1967,
Samson Erdswick, A Servey of Staffordshire, JB Nichols and Son,1844,
Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1971,
Margret Gelling, Some Thoughts on Staffordshire Place-Names, North Staffordshire Jurnal of Field Studies, vol 21, 1981,
Tim Cockin, Staffordshire Encyclopedia, Malthouse Press, Stoke on Trent, 200,
P Wheatley, in The Domesday Geography of Midland England, Chapter IV Staffordshire, Cambridge University Press, 1971,
Freeman, The History of the Norman Conquest, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1867,
Victoria County History of Stafford, vol 1, Archibold and Constable co ltd, 1900
Robin Studd, Recorded Waste in the Staffordshire Domesday Entry, Staffordshire Studies vol12 2000, University of Keele,
GJV Bemrose, Archaeology and History, North Staffordshire Field Club Transactions, vol 73, 1938 Allison and Bowen,
FJ Moxon, Old North Staffordshire, Keele University Library,
Paul Butters, Stafford the Story of a Thousand Years, Crescent Publishing, Tamworth, 1979,
Michael Wood, Domesday a Search for the Roots of England, Book Club Associates, Chatham, 1987,
A Description of Maer, 1812,
[1] John Morris Ed, Domesday Book Staffordshire, Phillimore, Chichester, 1976, 248d, 249a
[2] Staffordshire County Council, Domesday Book for Staffordshire, Local History Source Book No 10, 21
[3] DV Mayer, Notes on the “de Mere” Family of Feudal North Staffordshire, Staffordshire History, Vol 21 1995, 3
[4] DV Mayer, 1
[5] Nigel Tringham, Leek before the Conquest, Essays in the honour of Michael Greenslade, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Seriers vol 19, 1999, Keele University, 5
[6] WH Duignan, Notes on Staffordshire Place Names, Oxford University Press, 1902, 1902, 108
[7] John Ward, 448
[8] John Morris, 249b
[9] Robert Mountford, Stoke –“Holy Place on the Trent” ,Lifelines Christian Newspaper, December 2003, 6
[10] John Ward, History of the Borough of Stoke on Trent 1843, republished by SR Publishers Ltd, Wakefield, 1969, 447
[11] Nigel Tringham, 10
[12] DM Palisser and AC Pinnock, The Markets of Medieval Staffordshire, North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies, vol II, 1971, 55
[13] Robin Studd, Medieval Newcastle under Lyme a hidden Domesday Borough? Staffordshire Studies volIII, University of Keele, 1990/1, 17
[14] Michael Swaton Ed, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Phoenix Press, 1996, 96
[15] DM Palliser, The making of the Staffordshire Landscape, Hodder and Stoughton, 1976, 50
[16] Richard Hodges, The Anglo-Saxon Achievement, Duckworth, 1989, 32
[17] G Harnaman, Way of the Beaton Track, Six Towns Magazine, June 1967, 12
[18] Samson Erdswick, A Servey of Staffordshire, JB Nichols and Son,1844, 116
[19] Frank Stenton, 82
[20] Ordnance Survey Map, Explorer, 243
[21] Frank Stenton , 85
[22] Tim Cockin, 380
[23] Frank Stenton, 85
[24] John Ward, 8
[25] Margret Gelling, Some Thoughts on Staffordshire Place-Names, North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies, vol 21, 1981, 18
[26] Margret Gelling, 18
[27] Frank Stenton, 326
[28] P Wheatly, in The Domesday Geography of Midland England, Chapter IV Staffordshire, Cambridge University Press,1971, 203
[29] Thomas Forester, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis, Henry Bohn, vol II, 1854, 28
[30] Robin Studd, 5
[31] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 30
[32] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 28
[33] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 31
[34] Charles Lynam, Victoria County History of Stafford, vol 1, Archibold and Constable co ltd, 1908, 340
[35] Robin Studd, Recorded Waste in the Staffordshire Domesday Entry, Staffordshire Studies vol12 2000, University of Keele, 2
[36] Thomas Forester, Ordericus Vitalis, 31
[37] John Morris, 248 c,d
[38] Ordnance Survey Map, Explorer, 243,
[39] Erdswick, 116
[40] GJV Bemrose, Archaeology and History, North Staffordshire Field Club Transactions, vol 73, 1938 Allison and Bowen, 114
[41] GJV Bemrose, 114
[42] See cover page,
[43] Frank Stenton, 591
[44] Morris, 248 c,d
[45] FJ Moxon, Old North Staffordshire, Keele University Library, 1972, 433
[46] Stafford Castle a brief history, Stafford Borough Council, WM Print, Walsall, 3
[47] Frank Stenton, 606
[48]Michael Wood, Domesday a Search for the Roots of England, Book Club Associates, Chatham,1987, 72
[49] Margret Gelling, 18
[50] A Description of Maer, 1812, 3
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