Stockport Castle
| Stockport Castle | |
|
Cheshire | |
|---|---|
 Castle Yard, Stockport | |
| Type: | Promontory castle |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SJ897905 |
| Location: | 3°24’41"N, 2°9’15"W |
| Town: | Stockport |
| History | |
| Information | |
Stockport Castle was a promontory castle in Stockport, in Cheshire. The castle was in the mediæval town, overlooking a ford over the River Mersey, and thus the boundary of the two counties palatine of Cheshire and Lancaster. The castle was first documented in 1173, but the next mention of it is in 1535 when it was in ruins. What remained of the castle was demolished in 1775.
Location
Stockport Castle was an urban castle in the town of Stockport. The mediæval town was on the south side of a valley at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Tame, where they form the River Mersey. The site of the castle is a 30-foot high sandstone spur, overlooking a ford.[1] The castle was flanked by cliffs or steep slopes on its north, south, and west sides.
History
The first mention of Stockport Castle comes from 1173, when Geoffrey de Costentyn held it against Henry II during the barons' rebellion of 1173–1174.[1] There is a local tradition that Geoffrey de Constentyn was Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, the son of Henry II, but in fact he was a local lord who not only owned the manor of Stockport, but land in Staffordshire and in Ireland.
The bailey would originally have been defended by a wooden palisade and earthworks; these were replaced by stone walls at the beginning of the 13th century. Two fragments of the wall survive.[2]
Dent suggests that the castle began to decline in the 14th century when the Warren family became Lords of the Manor of Stockport; Stockport was not the only manor that the family owned, and they favoured the manor of Poynton over that of Stockport. The castle falling out of use mirrors a trend with the other castles in the area; by the 13th century, apart from Dunham Castle, there was no indication of activity in castles on the Mersey plain. According to antiquarian John Leland, the castle lay in ruins by 1535.[1] At this stage, the gaol was still present and a market was held in the castle's bailey. The castle grounds had been divided and rented out by the Lord of the Manor. The ruins were levelled in 1775 by Sir George Warren, the lord of the manor, and a cotton mill built on the site. In 1974, excavations of the motte were carried out to establish how long the castle had been occupied.
Layout
A motte-and-bailey castle was a common type of fortification in the Middle Ages. It consisted of a usually artificial mound surmounted by a tower or keep, with a large defended enclosed area next to the mound and was usually used for storage and barracks. Stockport Castle's motte was where Castle Yard is today – although it was previously called Castle Hill – influencing the name of the area. The bailey was situated south-east of the motte.
The castle was probably similar in size and shape to castles such as Launceston in Cornwall, and Pontefract in Yorkshire. The keep surmounting the motte was irregularly shaped, and according to plans drawn in 1775 by the Reverend John Watson, a local antiquarian, measured 100 feet by 200 feet. No trace of the keep remains from the levelling of the area in 1775 and 1853.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Monuments Record: No. 1085399 – Stockport Castle
- ↑ "Stockport Castle". The Gatehouse. http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/3358.html. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- Arrowsmith, Peter (1997). Stockport: A History. Stockport MBC Community Services Division, and Stockport Libraries, in association with the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit. ISBN 0-905164-99-7.
- Dent, J. S. (1977). "Recent Excavations on the site of Stockport Castle". Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society 79: 1–13.
- Friar, Stephen (2003). The Sutton Companion to Castles. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3994-2.
- Grimsditch, Brian; Nevell, Mike; Redhead, Norman (2007). Buckton Castle: An Archaeological Evaluation of a Mediæval Ringwork – an Interim Report. University of Manchester Archaeological Unit.