Staunton-on-Arrow

68 STAUNTON-ON-ARROW (B.c.)

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)X, S.E., ^(b)XI, N.W., ^(c)XI, S.W.)

Staunton-on-Arrow is a parish on the N. bank of that stream, 5 m. N.E. of Kington. The church, re-built in 1853, has no ancient features. The camp on Wapley Hill and Highland (Monument 2) are the principal monuments.

Secular

^c(1). Mound (Plate 5) or motte, immediately S.W. of the churchyard, is circular with a flat top and is surrounded by a dry ditch. The diameter at the top is about 63 ft. and it rises at most 28 ft. above the bottom of the ditch. There can be little or no doubt that it is a castle-mound. Ill-defined scarpings to the S. and W. may indicate the former existence of one or more baileys.

Condition—Fairly good.

^b(2). Highland, house, nearly 2¼ m. N.W. of the church, is of two storeys, the walls are partly timber-framed and partly of rubble; the roofs are covered with stone slates. The plan is T-shaped with the cross-wing at the W. end. The E. range, originally timber-framed and of one storey only, formed part of a mediæval house of crutch-construction; an upper floor was inserted in the 17th-century, when the wing was faced in stone. The stone-built cross-wing is of early 17th-century date and has heavy buttresses at the southern angles, where the ground falls away. Inside the building, the E. wing is divided into two bays by an original crutch-truss with chamfered timbers; there is a similar truss adjoining the cross-wing. The cross-wing has early 17th-century moulded or chamfered ceiling-beams forming square panels; on the first floor is a doorway with a shaped head.

Condition—Good.

^c(3). Staunton Old Hall, house and barn, 320 yards N.N.W. of the church. The House is of two storeys, timber-framed, and with slate or stonecovered roofs. It was built probably about the middle of the 16th century on a half H-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the N.E. It was much altered in the 17th century when the main block was heightened and extended and the N.W. wing extended. The upper storey formerly projected at the end of the S.W. wing but has been under-built. Some of the timber-framing is exposed. Inside the building, some of the ceiling-beams are exposed. The mid 17th-century staircase has moulded strings and rails and flat shaped balusters. On the first floor is a little 17th-century panelling.

The Barn, W. of the house, is timber-framed and of five bays. It was built in the 17th century.

Condition—Good.

Monuments (4–11)

The following monuments, unless otherwise described, are of the 17th century and of two storeys; the roofs are covered with stone or modern slates. Many of the buildings have exposed ceiling-beams.

Condition—Good or fairly good.

^c(4). House, two tenements and shop, on the W. side of the road, 100 yards N. of the church, has an added stone wing on the W. The main block has exposed timber-framing.

^c(5). Staunton Court, formerly Field's Place, 500 yards W.N.W. of the church, is timber-framed and rough-cast.

^c(6). The Butts, cottage, on the N. side of the road, ¾ m. W.N.W. of the church, is of stone with a thatched roof. It was built early in the 18th century, and adjoining it on the W. are the ruins of a second cottage of the same date.

^c(7). Upper Tan House, cottage, nearly 1½ m. W.N.W. of the church, is of stone and of L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the W. and S.

^c(8). Stansbatch Farm, house, on the N. side of the road, 370 yards N. of (7), is stone-built, and has been much altered and added to.

^c(9). Lower Mowley, house and barn, about 1¾ m. W. of the church. The House is partly timber-framed and partly faced in brick. There is a later wing on the S.W. side. Some of the timber-framing is exposed. Inside the building, one room has remains of an original plaster ceiling; the panels have circular enrichments with conventional devices, and small trees with birds in the spandrels.

The Barn, N. of the house, is timber-framed and of four bays with queen-post and strutted roof-trusses.

^a(10). Titley Gate, cottage, on the W. side of the road, nearly 2¼ m. W.N.W. of the church, is timber-framed and plastered or weather-boarded.

^c(11). Stocklow Manor, house, 1 m. N. of the church, is stone-built and consists of two overlapping blocks, of which the N.E. block is an addition of late 17th or early 18th-century date.

Unclassified

^b(12). Wapley Camp (c. 1,050 ft.) occupies the W. end of the summit of Wapley Hill which, though precipitous along its N. side, is of comparatively easy slope on the S. The camp is of roughly triangular form, generally following the contours except at the E. end. Unlike most of the Herefordshire camps, its easy approach on the N.E. and S. sides has necessitated a greater elaboration of the defences at these points. It covers an area of approximately 25 acres.

The N.E. side is protected by five ramparts, the three inner ones having two medial ditches; between the third and fourth is a wide berm, and between the fourth and fifth a ditch and berm, while beyond the fifth is an outer ditch. On the S. there are only four ramparts (Plate 4) with medial ditches, but E. of the entrance on this side there is a natural berm left between the second ditch and the outer rampart. The defences at the W. end consist of three ramparts with two medial ditches and an outer ditch which gradually die out as they reach the N.W. side; here the defences apparently consisted only of a ditch dug in the steep scarp and the slight artificial steepening of the inner scarp, the spoil from the ditch being thrown outwards. This ditch has become largely filled in by the erosion of the bank above.

There are now four entrances. The main entrance was on the S. side where (see plan) the outer rampart has been brought forward for some distance on each side of the opening, thereby forming a long sunken approach up to the inner rampart, which in turn has been curved inwards on each side of the opening. The entrance (Plate 4) at the N. apex of the triangle is probably original and has the inner rampart turned inwards slightly on the S. side of the opening; it is approached by a causeway. The remaining two entrances, namely, those at the E. and W. ends, are of later date and possibly modern.

Within the camp are three pillow-mounds with traces of surrounding ditches. It is possible that there may be others, but the ground is so thickly covered with bracken and modern planting that a low mound would be hidden from observation over much of the site. There are said by earlier observers to have been three other mounds lower down the hillside on the S., but here, again, recent planting has effectually concealed them.

Condition—Fairly good, partly planted.