There may have been a settlement in Clun during the Roman period; there was certainly a substantial, prosperous Anglo-Saxon estate there, which formed part of the administrative area known as the Purslow Hundred. At the time of the Norman invasion of England, these lands were held by Edric Silvaticus, who then rebelled against the Normans in 1068; in response, the Normans devastated the region.
After the rebellion, the Norman lord Picot De Say was given the Clun manor by Roger de Montgomery, the lord of Shropshire. Picot went on to acquire 27 manors in total, and later declared himself the Baron of Clun. The manor and its surrounding lands formed part of the contested border region, and Picot constructed a castle to protect them. The Welsh threat remained, and in the early 12th century the de Says created the Honour of Clun, an administrative grouping of manors centred on the castle, initially beginning with the manors of Clun and Obley.
The Clun settlement was probably expanded to form a town around the same time; a planned extension to the existing settlement was built alongside the castle, with the streets laid out along a grid pattern. Earthwork town defences may have been built around this time, possibly around modern day Kid Lane and Bridge Street, providing an outer ring of defences from the castle.
The region became prosperous from the growing English wool trade, and by 1272 Clun had 183 burgages, a regular market and held two fairs a year. In 1277, the town was granted murage, the right to collect taxes to pay for its defences. A town wall appears to have been constructed, at least partially funded by the murage grant, and remains of its foundations exist at the back of Newport Street, Frog Street (now Ford Street) and Bridge Street. The wall may have built as much for prestige as for defence.
During the 15th century, the town felt the impact of the declining English wool trade and its wealth diminished. The town wall appears to have been abandoned soon after.
Bibliography
- Buteux, Victoria. (2005) Archaeological Assessment of Clun, Shropshire. Worcester, UK: Worcester County Council and English Heritage.
- Craddock-Bennett, Luke; Richard K. Morris; Andy Boucher; Hilary Smith. (2012) Clun Castle, Clun, Shropshire: Conservation Plan for English Heritage. Hereford: UK, Headland Archaeology.
- Lierberman, Max. (2010) The Medieval March of Wales: The Creation and Perception of a Frontier, 1066-1283. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139486897.
- Morriss, R. (1993) Clun Castle, Shropshire: An Interim Report. Hereford, UK: City of Hereford Archaeology Unit.
- Summerson, H. (1993) Clun Castle and Borough: Documentary Sources. Hereford, UK: Clun Castle Archive Project.
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The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Images on this page are attributed and licensed as follows: “Map of Clun town defences”, derived from OpenStreetMap data, © OpenStreetMap contributors, released under CC BY-SA.