Halton Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the village of Halton, part of the town of Runcorn,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

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

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

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 easy to ...

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 as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and a scheduled ancient monument. It was the seat of the

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

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

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

. It was

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

twice in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...

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 a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

History

Early history

There is evidence that Halton Hill was a settlement in

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

times. Construction of the castle began in 1071 after Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester, 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. When the 15th baron, Henry Bolingbroke, became King Henry IV, the castle became the property of the

. 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. A new gate tower was built between 1450 and 1457. During the

Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...

it was primarily used as a prison, an administrative centre, and a court of law. In 1580–81 the castle was designated as a prison for Catholic recusants. 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.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

. 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 a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

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 Henry Sephton (c. 1686 – 2 June 1756) was the leading mason and architect in St Helens, Lancashire during the second quarter of the eighteenth century, the architect-builder of Ince Blundell Hall and Halton Court House, Halton, Cheshire (now a h ...

, a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

architect and builder, and John Orme, a joiner from Prescot, 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 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 period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

a sunken garden and two bowling greens were constructed within the castle enclosure. In 1977 the castle was leased to

Halton Borough Council Halton Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Halton, incorporating the towns of Runcorn and Widnes and the parishes of Daresbury, Hale, Moore and Preston Brook. It is a constituent council of Liverpool City Region Combined Aut ...

. 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

and managed by 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 the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, Cheshire, the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

, the hills of the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

and the mountains of

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. 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

Citations

Sources

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