There are nine castles in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, a

metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

. They consist of four

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

s, three fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

s, an

enclosure castle An enclosure castle is a fortified residence or stronghold, in which defence is facilitated by walls and towers. Such fortifications were usually composed of wood or stone, but there are later examples built of brick. Features In enclosure castl ...

, and a possible

shell keep A shell keep is a style of medieval fortification, best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte. In English castle morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to motte-and-bailey castles, with the wooden fence arou ...

. A motte-and-bailey castle is characterised by two elements: the motte is an artificial mound with a wooden

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

and stronghold on top, usually a stone

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

or tower, while the bailey is a defended enclosure adjacent to the motte, typically enclosed by a ditch and a bank topped by a timber palisade or stone wall. Motte-and-bailey castles were the most common type of castle in England following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. A shell keep was a motte with a stone wall rather than a wooden stockade on top; there would have been no tower within the walls. Four of Greater Manchester's castles are

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, visu ...

s: Buckton, Bury, Radcliffe Tower, and Watch Hill. A

is a "nationally important"

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The purpose of a castle was not simply militaristic, but was also considered to be a stamp of authority over the population of an area and a status symbol. Some would have acted as centres of trade and administration for a manor. The earliest castles in Greater Manchester are

Dunham Castle Dunham Castle is an early medieval castle in Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester, England (). History The castle is first referred to in 1173, in a document stating Hamo de Masci held the castles of Dunham and Ullerwood. Documentary evidence ...

and Watch Hill Castle in

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...

, Ullerwood Castle in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and Stockport Castle in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

. Dunham, Ullerwood, and Stockport castles were first recorded in 1173 as belonging to barons who had rebelled against

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

,Arrowsmith (1997), p. 31. and Watch Hill likely dates from this period; and at least three were motte-and-bailey castles, probably because of the speed and ease with which they could be erected.

Hamon de Massey The first Hamon de Massey was the owner of the manors of Agden, Baguley, Bowdon, Dunham, Hale and Little Bollington after the Norman conquest of England (1066), taking over from the Saxon thegn Aelfward according to Domesday Book. He was pos ...

, who owned the Trafford castles and Ullerwood, and Geoffrey de Constentyn, who owned Stockport Castle, were two of the three rebels from Cheshire; the other was the

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...

, the owner of

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining par ...

. Castles continued to be built in the area, although the last to be built in Greater Manchester were two fortified manor houses near Bury, built more for comfort than as utilitarian military structures. Bury Castle and Radcliffe Tower followed the national trend in the 13th century; they would most likely have acted as the centre of the manor they served.Friar (2003), p. 186–7. __TOC__

List of castles

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading