• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Castle Site Near Camden St

The Manor House(Birmingham Moat) - not to be confused with the Camden Street details - was where the present day Wholesale Markets have been built . This was the structure dated as 1166 referred to in a previous post.
Page 87 Birmingham Hidden History by Michael Hodder gives much detail with a photo on p88 of the 1973-75 excavations. It is suggested that it looked very similar to Weoley Castle being of the same, ringwork, style.
The book is quite informative on the cities history and earthworks and should be in at least one of the cities libraries. It is for the enquirer and student rather than those who prefer more tv style narrative. The book is also available from quite a few suppliers.

++ no pecuniary interest, just an interested reader. ;)
 
this makes interesting reading

  • Moated Sites

    Moated sites consist of one or more ditches, which in most cases were intended
    to be water-filled, surrounding an area occupied by buildings or other structures
    The earth created by digging the moat was often piled into the area enclosed by
    it to form a raised platform on which buildings were constructed. The size and
    shape of the area enclosed by the moat varies. Rectangular enclosures are
    common but some are circular or trapezoidal. Sometimes there is more than one
    enclosure, and the moat is often accompanied by one or more fishponds. There
    are often channels to carry water into and away from the moat.

    Most moated sites were constructed between the 12
    th
    and 14
    th
    centuries. They
    are particularly concentrated in the West Midlands, in Essex/Cambridgeshire and
    in south-east Ireland.

    Although they would have kept out unwanted visitors, moats were not primarily
    defensive and were rarely accompanied by anything more than a low bank or
    fence. A wet moat could have other practical purposes. It could assist drainage, it
    could serve as a fishpond, although moats are frequently accompanied by
    separate fishponds, as water for animals, and as a source of water if fire broke
    out in the timber buildings it surrounded. Excavations have shown that moats
    were not surprisingly used as a convenient place for rubbish disposal, although
    they were not constructed for this purpose. The main reason for constructing a
    moat around a house is likely to have been prestige: the moat was one of a
    number of status symbols in the medieval period. The moat made the building it
    surrounded stand out and look something like a castle even though it had no
    stone walls, towers or battlements.

    As archaeological sites, moated sites consist of three parts: the moat itself, the
    surface of the area enclosed by it, and an earlier surface under the platform
    derived from upcast from the moat. Under the platform, there may be remains of
    land use before the moat was constructed, such as cultivation or remains of
    earlier buildings. The structures enclosed by the moat could include a dwelling
    consisting of a great hall and crosswing, accompanied by ancillary buildings. The
    moat, even if it is now apparently dry, may still contain deposits in which
    conditions are suitable for the preservation of remains of the past environment
    such as seeds, and objects made of organic materials such as wood and leather.

    In later periods, when they had ceased to be regarded as status symbols, moats
    were sometimes wholly or partly filled in and a new dwelling was constructed in a
    more convenient location outside the moated area.

    There were originally as many as ninety moated sites in what is now the city of
    Birmingham, mostly in the south and east of the city. Few of these are now
    visible because the buildings have long since disappeared and the moat itself
  • has been filled in and covered by modern development, but there are still likely to
    be below-ground remains of the moat and the structures it originally enclosed.
 
I went to the Library last week and they can't find any of the papers related to
Thomas d B. I am going to have to trace my steps back to find the origin of the info I found. Lots of map out on show but nothing old enough.

I did pop in to see the Shakespeare exhibition, what a man he was.
 
hi di and thanks for trying...hope you can track back to your original info...:)

lyn x
 
Bringing a little life back to this interesting thread, I have just seen this from "A Topographical dictionary of England in 5 volumes" by Samuel Lewis (1831).:
"and about three miles to the west (of the town), and within a few hundred yards of the Iknield-street, are the remains of a large quadrangular encampment, surrounded by a triple fosse, which, from the extent of its area (being more than thirty acres), is supposed to be of Danish origin: pieces of armour, broken swords, and battle-axes, have been ploughed up in the vicinity."
 
Bringing a little life back to this interesting thread, I have just seen this from "A Topographical dictionary of England in 5 volumes" by Samuel Lewis (1831).:
"and about three miles to the west (of the town), and within a few hundred yards of the Iknield-street, are the remains of a large quadrangular encampment, surrounded by a triple fosse, which, from the extent of its area (being more than thirty acres), is supposed to be of Danish origin: pieces of armour, broken swords, and battle-axes, have been ploughed up in the vicinity."
wow that is interesting mike...nice to see this thead bought to life again..
 
Bringing a little life back to this interesting thread, I have just seen this from "A Topographical dictionary of England in 5 volumes" by Samuel Lewis (1831).:
"and about three miles to the west (of the town), and within a few hundred yards of the Iknield-street, are the remains of a large quadrangular encampment, surrounded by a triple fosse, which, from the extent of its area (being more than thirty acres), is supposed to be of Danish origin: pieces of armour, broken swords, and battle-axes, have been ploughed up in the vicinity."
Mike can I use this little bit of extra info please?
 
Back
Top