Bury Castle was an early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

moated

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

Bury, Lancashire Bury (, ) is a market town on the River Irwell in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. which had a population of 81,101 in 2021 while the wider borough had a population of 193,846. The town was originally part of the ...

(). Its remains are listed as a

scheduled 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, visu ...

. The manor house was built by Sir Thomas Pilkington – lord of the manors of Bury and Pilkington, and an influential member of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

's gentry – in 1469. Retrieved on 4 April 2008. He was given permission by

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

to: It is situated on the top of a slope overlooking the

River Irwell The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north-west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam Locks. The Irwell marks the bound ...

in a strong defensive position. Excavations have revealed there were six main construction phases on the site. The first phase was between 1359 and 1400 and produced a house platform surrounded by a moat. The building was razed to the ground (

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

) on the orders of Henry VII after Sir Thomas Pilkington supported the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...

in the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

, particularly the

Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 ...

in 1485. On top of this, all of Sir Thomas' lands were confiscated. In 1540,

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

John Leland described Bury Castle as "a ruin of a castle by the Parish Church in the town". In 1753,

Thomas Percival Thomas Percival (29 September 1740 – 30 August 1804) was an English physician, health reformer, ethicist and author who wrote an early code of medical ethics. He drew up a pamphlet with the code in 1794 and wrote an expanded version in 180 ...

drew plans of the visible foundations of the walls of Bury Castle, measuring by . The ruins were looted to provide building material for the town of Bury. In 1865, further foundations were discovered, this time of a

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

or defensive tower by with walls thick. The remains of Bury Castle drew public attention in 1973 when amateur archaeologists uncovered stonework that had previously lain underneath a car park. The site, which is owned by Bury Council and has undergone "restoration and enhancement work", has been open to the public since 2000. Retrieved on 27 May 2008. Bury Castle is about north of Radcliffe Tower, an early 15th-century moated manor house.

References

{{Reflist, 33em Buildings and structures completed in 1469 Castles in Lancashire Buildings and structures in Bury, Greater Manchester Scheduled monuments in Greater Manchester Ruins in Greater Manchester Ruined castles in England 1469 establishments in England

See also

References