Ullerwood Castle is an early medieval castle, possibly a
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 ...
, in
Ringway,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England ().
The castle is first referred to in 1173, in a document stating
Hamo de Masci
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. His probabl ...
held the castles of Ullerwood and
Dunham.
There is no other contemporary documented reference to the castle.
Ullerwood Castle has been confused with
Watch Hill Castle
Watch Hill Castle (also known as Yarwood Castle, Castle Hill, and Bowdon Watch) is a medieval motte-and-bailey on the boundary of Bowdon, Greater Manchester, Bowdon and Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester, England. It is a scheduled monument. The c ...
in nearby
Bowdon, but the two are separate castles, though both probably owned by de Masci.
[Nevell (1997), p. 33, 35.] The site is underneath a house and surrounded by trees.
[Newman (2006), p. 140.]
See also
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Castles in Greater Manchester
There are nine castles in Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. They consist of four motte-and-baileys, three fortified manor houses, an enclosure castle, and a possible shell keep. A motte-and-bailey castle has t ...
References
Bibliography
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*
Buildings and structures in Trafford
Castles in Greater Manchester
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