BUCTON

The Roman fort site at Bucton is only visible in aerial photographs and dates from around AD80. It appears to have been built to replace the timber auxillary fort close by at Jays Lane. It would have housed cavalry and infantry and consisted originally of earth ramparts riveted with turf and 1 or 2 ditches with timber gatehouse. The fort continued in this form until sometime early in the second century AD when the timber gatehouse was replaced by a stone one and a rampart wall. The fort was dismantled by 140AD due to a reduction of the garrison on this frontier. The stonework was possibly reused at the Bathhouse at Leintwardine due to the scarcity of sandstone in the area. Link to more info HERE
The 4m high mound or motte, behind farm buildings which were possibly built over a bailey, is of Norman origin, being one of many such sites dotted all along the border in this area. Not only were the multitude of castles safe refuges from the maurauding Welsh, but together they formed a network of defences across a security zone about 15km wide which for the most part seems to have worked effectively. This mound is 39m diameter and 4m high above its ditch which may have been filled with water from the nearby mill leat off the River Teme.