Trematon Town Defenses

In the civil parish of Saltash.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Town and defenses vanished, probably town was within castle bailey. PastScape record town but not defences other than as description of castle.

This site has been described as a Urban Defence :

Urban Defence : Town walls, banks and gates. Those built by the Romans, Anglo-Saxons or Danes are mentioned if they were maintained, at least partly, during the period 1000-1600. As with most fortifications of the period these were not simply defensive but reflected social status. Ambitious town leaders would petition for and build walls for the personally and civic kudos. Walls and ditches, or sometimes just isolated gates, also regulated trade and made collection of taxes easier. Some villages, in vulnerable areas, had simple defences of ditches to deter cattle raiders and 'wolves' (Although I doubt wolves were a real threat to any community at any time they were believed to be a threat)

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.

Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX410580

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 437483

Books
- Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p217, 257
  Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
  Beresford, M.W. and Finberg, H.P.R, 1973, English medieval boroughs: a hand-list p82
  Beresford, Maurice, 1967, New towns of the Middle Ages: town plantation in England, Wales and Gascony (New York) p411-3

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