West Derby Castle was a Norman

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 ...

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, in the east of the city. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West Derby achieved significance far earlier tha ...

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 ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

; only

cropmarks Cropmarks or crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible aerial archaeology, from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform. Such marks, along with parch m ...

and underground ruins survive today.

History

Construction and early repairs

Roger de Poitou Roger the Poitevin or Roger de Poitou (mid-1060s – before 1140) was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat possessing large holdings both in England and through his marriage in France during the early 12th century. He was the third son of Roger of Montg ...

built West Derby Castle as a timber

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 ...

structure surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

in 1100. The Castle was repaired between 1197 and 1202 and again in 1213 and then between 1218 and 1227.King, D.J.C., 1983, ''Castellarium Anglicanum'' (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 247-8

Foundation of Liverpool and decline

When the town of

was founded in 1207, West Derby Castle began to decline in importance, and the garrison of 140 soldiers stationed at West Derby Castle was moved to

Liverpool Castle Liverpool Castle was a castle in Liverpool, Liverpool, England, that stood from the early 13th century to the early 18th century (1237–1726). Construction The castle was probably erected in the 1230s, between 1232 and 1235, under the orders o ...

in 1235. Upon the death of William de Ferrers in 1247, his son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

inherited both Liverpool Castle and West Derby Castle. The heir to the title was Robert de Ferrers. He rebelled against King Henry III and was arrested and held in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

and then

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. His lands and title were removed and taken back by the Crown. Henry III presented the land, along with

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

to his second son

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

. Mary de Ferrers, wife of the forfeited earl and niece to the King, was ordered to surrender the castle in July 1266. The lands were then held by Edmund and passed onto his successor

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. It was under the administration of Thomas that West Derby Castle was abandoned in favour of Liverpool Castle in 1297, and it was reported to be in ruins in 1326 and 1327.Cooper, J.G., & Power, A.D., 1982, ''A History of West Derby'', Causeway Press, Ormskirk Around 1817 a Mr. Gascoigne, Lord of the Manor levelled the earthworks of West Derby Castle.

Excavation

The timber remnants of West Derby Castle were discovered during excavations in the mid 1930s. Excavations in 1927 and 1956 discovered oak beams and cropmarks belonging to the castle, and the moat was identified and excavated along Meadow Lane in 2022.The Great British Dig: History in your garden, series 2, episode 5, West Derby. Broadcast 26th January 2022 (accessed 27th January 2022)

Pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

of dates ranging from the 12th to 18th centuries was discovered to have been discarded into the moat.

References

{{Reflist Motte-and-bailey castles Former castles in England Liverpool Former buildings and structures in Liverpool