Cheney Longville ringwork

Reasons for Designation

Ringworks are medieval fortifications built and occupied from the late Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. They comprised a small defended area containing buildings which was surrounded or partly surrounded by a substantial ditch and a bank surmounted by a timber palisade or, rarely, a stone wall. Occasionally a more lightly defended embanked enclosure, the bailey, adjoined the ringwork. Ringworks acted as strongholds for military operations and in some cases as defended aristocratic or manorial settlements. They are rare nationally with only 200 recorded examples and less than 60 with baileys. As such, and as one of a limited number and very restricted range of Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, ringworks are of particular significance to our understanding of the period.

Cheney Longville ringwork is essentially undisturbed and will retain archaeological evidence of both its defences and the internal structures within.

Details

The ringwork lies to the north-west of Cheney Longville and is situated on high ground overlooking the village. Cheney Longville ringwork comprises a ditch and bank about 1.5m high enclosing a central area about 35m across. The interior of the ringwork is slightly raised above the surrounding ground level and has some irregularities suggesting the presence of buried buildings. The outer ditch is up to 3m deep and 5m wide on the south, west and north sides but has been considerably altered by a road on the north and north-east sides and by the building of a cottage on the south-east side. There are entrances to the site through the bank on the north and south sides but these are not considered to be original. The ringwork is thought to have been constructed in the 11th or early 12th century and it may have been replaced by the moated castle site which lies 150m to the south-west. All outbuildings on the site are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

13678

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Salter, M, Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire, (1988)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.