Stockport Castle
| Stockport Castle | |
|---|---|
  Location within Greater Manchester | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | promontory castle |
| Town or city | Stockport, Greater Manchester (historically in Cheshire) |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53°24′41″N 2°09′15″W / 53.411401°N 2.154218°W |
| Demolished | 1775 |
Stockport Castle was a promontory castle in Stockport, Greater Manchester (historically in Cheshire), England. The castle was in the medieval town, overlooking a ford over the River Mersey. It 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 medieval 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 10-metre-high (33 ft) sandstone spur, overlooking a ford (grid reference SJ897905).[1][2] The castle was flanked by cliffs or steep slopes on its north, south, and west sides.[3]
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 de Constentyn was the son of Henry II, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; in fact, de Constentyn was a local lord who not only owned the manor of Stockport, but land in Staffordshire and Ireland.[4] 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.[5]
Dent suggests that the castle began to decline in the 14th century when the Warren family became
Layout
A motte-and-bailey castle was a common type of fortification in medieval England.[9] 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.[10] Stockport Castle's motte was where Castle Yard is today, although it was previously called Castle Hill, influencing the name of the area.[11] The bailey was situated south-east of the motte.[3] The castle was probably similar in size and shape to castles such as Launceston in Cornwall and Pontefract in West 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 31 by 60 m (102 by 197 ft). No trace of the keep remains from the levelling of the area in 1775 and 1853.[3]
See also
- Castles in Greater Manchester
References
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Stockport Castle (1085399)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ Dent (1977), p. 1.
- ^ a b c Dent (1977), p. 4.
- ^ Arrowsmith (1997), p. 31.
- ^ "Stockport Castle". The Gatehouse. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ a b c Dent (1977), p. 6.
- ^ Grimsditch, Nevell & Redhead (2007), p. 8.
- ^ Arrowsmith (1997), p. 32.
- ^ Friar (2003), p. 44.
- ^ Friar (2003), pp. 22, 214.
- ^ Dent (1977), pp. 3–4.
Bibliography
- 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 Medieval Ringwork – an Interim Report. University of Manchester Archaeological Unit.