Caus Town Defenses
Has been described as a Certain Urban Defence
There are earthwork remains
| Name | Caus Town Defenses |
| Alternative Names | Cause; Caurs; Chaus; Caws |
| Historic Country | Shropshire |
| Modern Authority | Shropshire |
| 1974 Authority | Shropshire |
| Civil Parish | Westbury |
Deserted medieval borough which was established primarily to serve Caus Castle. Caus was probably in existence by 1200 when the grant of a weekly market was obtained. The borough was encircled with a wall and two gates before 1300 and adjoined Caus Castle to the north and west. After the Black Death Caus went into decay and the last mention of a tenanted house there was in 1614. The free Chapel of St Nicholas opposite the Castle gate was in use until the destruction of the castle in 1645. The Chapel of St Margaret was founded in 1272 and is last documented in 1447. The interior street between East Gate and Wallop Gate was in use as part of a field road in 1816. The 9 acre site was surveyed in 1971. (PastScape)
The borough of Caus lay within a rampart to the north and west of the castle. It was probably in existence by 1200 when the grant of a weekly market was obtained (VCH 1968, 310). The borough prospered in the 13th and early 14th centuries, as it was situated on a principal trade route to Wales, and at the centre of the rich agricultural valley of the river Rea. A fair was granted in 1248 and on Thomas Corbet's death in 1274 there were 28 burgages. In the record of taxation for 1292 there are the names of the chief taxors, the lord, his bailiff and the twelve jurors of the "town and castle of Caus" (Beresford 1988). By 1300 there were 34 burgages, and by 1349 there were 58 (VCH 1968, 310). At some time before 1300 the borough had been provided with a defensive wall. (Buteux 1996)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
Not Listed
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SJ338079 |
| Latitude | 52.6653785705566 |
| Longitude | -2.97920989990234 |
| Eastings | 333800 |
| Northings | 307900 |
