Shrewsbury Barrow is a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

(also known as a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

) in

Shooter's Hill Shooter's Hill (or Shooters Hill) is a district in South East London within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It borders the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north of Eltham and south of Woolwich. With a height of , it is the highest point in t ...

in South East

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. It is a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

The Shrewsbury Barrow is named after the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury, who built nearby Shrewsbury House in 1789 (that Shrewsbury House was demolished, and, in 1923, replaced by the existing building of the same name). The barrow is adjacent to

Shrewsbury Park Shrewsbury Park is a public park situated on Shooter's Hill, south of Woolwich, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south east London. The park is east of Plum Lane, and north of the Shooter's Hill golf course. It takes its name from the earls ...

. It is the only surviving barrow of a group of six; or possibly two groups of three. The other barrows were destroyed during the development of the surrounding estate in the 1930s. The barrows are located at the top of the hill, and would have been visible from the foot of the hill, silhouetted against the sky. The only detailed description of the lost burial mounds is that of Col AH Bagnold in the parish magazine of Christ Church, Shooter's Hill. The Shrewsbury Barrow is No 1 in Bagnold's list. Tower House has been demolished, but, in his childhood, the future cabinet minister

Douglas Jay Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, Baron Jay, PC (23 March 1907 – 6 March 1996) was a British Labour Party politician. Early life Educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, Jay won the Chancellor's English Essay in 1927 and gained a ...

lived there, and he recalled playing on the tumulus as a child. Bagnold's optimism about the future prospects of No 6 was misplaced.

Location

It is located on the corners of Brinklow Crescent and Plum Lane. It is approximately 25m wide and 1.5m high.

Nearby burial mounds

There were other burial mounds nearby, and a small number remain, including the one on Winn's Common (No 7 in Bagnold's list) and a badly damaged one in

Lesnes Abbey Woods Lesnes Abbey Woods, sometimes known as Abbey Wood, is a 73 ha ancient woodland in southeast London, England. It is located near to, and named after, the ruined Lesnes Abbey in the London Borough of Bexley and gives its name to the Abbey Wood di ...

References

{{coord , 51, 28, 29, N, 0, 4, 13, E, type:forest_region:GB, display=title Parks and open spaces in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Stone Age sites in England Barrows in the United Kingdom