Heighley Castle (or Heleigh Castle) is a ruined medieval castle near Madeley,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. The castle was completed by the Audley family in 1233 and for over 300 years was one of their ancestral homes. It was held for

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and was destroyed by Parliamentary forces in the 1640s. The ruinous remains comprise masonry fragments, mostly overgrown by vegetation. The site is protected by

Grade II 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 ...

status and is a

Scheduled Ancient 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 and d ...

. The castle is privately owned and is not open to visitors. The castle is on

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

and described as being in 'very bad' condition.

History

Heleigh Castle was built by

Henry de Aldithley Henry Audley (or Aldithel or Alditheley; c. 1175–1246) was an English baron. Audley was a royalist baron, born about 1175 to Adam de Alditheley and Emma, daughter of Ralph/Radulphus fitzOrm. His father Adam held Alditheley ( Staffordshire) fro ...

(c.1175-1246) (later "de Audley"),

Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibil ...

1227-1232. He also built the nearby Red Castle, Shropshire. He endowed the nearby Cistercian Abbey of St. Mary at Hulton in 1223, and donated to it a large amount of land, some of which was an inheritance from his mother and some of which was purchased.

References

Sources

*
English Heritage: architectural description of listed building

External links

History of Heighley Castle
* {{coord, 53.0174, -2.3408, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Staffordshire Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Castles in Staffordshire Scheduled monuments in Staffordshire

History

See also

References

Sources

External links