Halton Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the village of Halton, part of the town of

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. The castle is on the top of Halton Hill, a

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

prominence overlooking the village. The original building, a

motte-and-bailey 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 eas ...

castle began in 1071, was replaced with the current sandstone castle in the 13th century. Building alterations continued until at least 1609, when the structure is recorded as in disrepair. The castle is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and 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, visu ...

. It was the seat of the

Barons of Halton The Barony of Halton, in Cheshire, England, comprised a succession of 15 barons and hereditary Constable of Chester, Constables of Chester under the overlordship of the Earl of Chester. It was not an English feudal barony granted by the king but ...

from the 11th century until the 14th century, then passed to the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

. It was besieged twice in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

after which its structure deteriorated. In the 18th century a new courthouse was built on the site of the previous gatehouse. The castle lies in ruins apart from the courthouse which has been converted into a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

History

Early history

There is evidence that Halton Hill was a settlement in

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

times. Construction of the castle began in 1071 after

Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...

, gave the land to Nigel of Cotentin, who built a wooden

castle. This was replaced by a

castle in the 13th century, which still stands. In 1207 King John visited and donated £5 towards the upkeep of its chapel.. Edward II visited the castle for three days in November 1323, during which time he also visited Norton Priory. When the 15th baron of Halton, Henry Bolingbroke, became King Henry IV, the castle became the property of the

in the 15th Century. A new gate tower was built between 1450 and 1457. During the

Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

it was primarily used as a prison, an administrative centre, and a

court of law A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

. In 1580–81 the castle was designated as a prison for Catholic

recusants Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

. According to a survey of the Royal Palaces in 1609, the castle had fallen into disrepair by then.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the

the castle was garrisoned by the Royalists under the command of Captain Walter Primrose who had been appointed by Earl Rivers. It was besieged by

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

Parliamentary forces under Sir William Brereton in 1643 and, after several weeks' fighting, the Royalists surrendered. They regained control under Colonel Fenwick after the Parliamentarians abandoned the castle to focus on Royalist forces led by

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

. There was a second siege in 1644 but, as the fortunes of the Royalists declined elsewhere, they withdrew from Halton and the Parliamentarians under Sir William Brereton re-occupied the castle. In 1646 a "Council of War" was held in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

where it was decided that the defences of the castles at Halton and Beeston should be dismantled. Halton Castle served no military function after this time. By 1650 the castle was said to be "very ruinous".

Later history

The condition of the building continued to deteriorate although the gatehouse remained in use as a court. In 1728

George Cholmondeley, 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley George Cholmondeley, 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley, PC, FRS (1666 – 7 May 1733), styled The Honourable from birth until 1715 and then known as Lord Newborough to 1725, was an English soldier. Cholmondeley was the second son of Robert Cholmondele ...

, leased the site from the Crown. In 1737 a courthouse was built on the site of the medieval gatehouse. Henry Sephton, a

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

architect and builder, and John Orme, a joiner from

Prescot Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...

, were appointed to carry out the work. The first floor was the courtroom and prisoners were held in the basement. By 1792 the courthouse had fallen into disrepair and money was found to repair it, although the source of that money is unclear. The court continued to function there until 1908. In around 1800, three

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

walls had been added to the existing ruined walls on the east side of the castle to make it look more impressive from Norton Priory, the home of Sir Richard Brooke. One of these walls was demolished in around 1906. During the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

a sunken garden and two

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

s were constructed within the castle enclosure. In 1977 the castle was leased to

Halton Borough Council Halton Borough Council is the Local government in England, local authority for Borough of Halton, Halton, a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county o ...

. In 1986–87 the site of the castle was excavated.

Present state

The castle continues to be owned by the

. It is leased from the Duchy by

with support from The Norton Priory Museum Trust. The castle is a Grade I

. Its walls are in a ruinous state, but the circumference is intact and it is possible to walk completely around the exterior. From its prominent position there are extensive views in all directions, including

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Cheshire, the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

, the hills of the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

and the mountains of

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. The courthouse is now a public house, The Castle, Halton. Its first floor is used as a function room and the basement contains the cellars of the public house. It is designated as a Grade II* listed building.

References

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