Oldcastle is a former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

, now in the parishes of Malpas and

Threapwood Threapwood is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is close to the villages of Shocklach, Worthenbury and Malpas, Che ...

, in the

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Gover ...

district and ceremonial county of

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 tow ...

in England. In 2001 it had a population of 54. The civil parish was abolished in 2015 and merged into Malpas and Threapwood.

History

The name "Oldcastle" comes from the presence of an old fortification on a promontory into the valley of the

Wych Brook The Wych Brook, Worthenbury Brook and Red Brook, formerly known as the River Elfe, is a tributary of the River Dee in England and Wales, forming part of both the historic and present-day border between the two countries. The stream forms part ...

now known as Castle Hill. In July 1957, the felling of trees at Castle Hill revealed an impressive earthwork consisting of a small platform 128 ft by 25 ft defended on the North by two deep transverse ditches, and on the South by three similar ditches. At the NW end, the neck of the spur is cut by 2 ditches, the inner one being 60-70ft wide. There was a limited excavation in August 1957 when a section was cut in the bottom of one of the northern ditches, and trial trenches dug in the platform on the summit. No evidence of date or structural remains were found. Any defensive structure would have been of wood. It is possible that the site is an outpost of the motte and bailey castle at Malpas suggesting, therefore, an 11th or early 12th century date, however it could be much older. The castle had been completely demolished by 1585 according to 'Magna Britannia' (itself citing William Webb's "King's Vale Royal") The area is a scheduled monument. In August 1644 Oldcastle Heath was the scene of a battle 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 r ...

between the Parliamentary forces out of Nantwich and Royalists who had come south from Lancashire. The Royalists were defeated, and Colonels Vane, Colonel Conyers, and Sergeant-Major Helketh were killed along with 50 or 60 common men. Oldcastle was a township within the Broxton Hundred, and was made a civil parish in 1866. The southern border, at Wych Brook, marks the boundary between England and Wales (

English Maelor English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg) comprises one half of the Maelor region on the Welsh side of the Wales-England border, being the area of the Maelor east of the River Dee. The region has changed counties several times, previously being par ...

in Welsh: Maelor Saesneg). At the time of the Domesday Book (1086) this area and the land to the South were part of the Duddeston (also Dudestan) Hundred under Robert fitzHugh, part of Cheshire previously under

Earl Edwin Edwin (Old English: ''Ēadwine'') (died 1071) was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's d ...

. The southern part of this Hundred became Maelor Saesneg sometime between then and 1202, and the northern part became the Broxton Hundred.

References

External links

Former civil parishes in Cheshire Cheshire West and Chester Malpas, Cheshire {{Cheshire-geo-stub