Chester Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Agricola tower

In the civil parish of Chester Castle. In the historic county of Cheshire (Modern Authority of Cheshire, 1974 county of Cheshire).

Agricola tower is the only feature of Castle which survived the destruction of the medieval castle by fire in late C18. Castle was originally an earthwork fortress of motte and bailey type built in 1070 by William I. The wooden tower was replaced by a stone tower in C12. The perimeter was walled in stone in late C12. Lower bailey was added in C13. New gates with drum towers were added to the inner bailey in C13 when the gate through Agricola tower was walled up. The outer bailey was walled with stone 1247-51, a new castle chamber added in 1246-7, and the Great Hall built 1250-3. The outer gatehouse was built 1292-3.Castle served as the administrative centre of the Earldom throughout the Mediaeval period. Castle was replaced after C18 fire by the buildings of the Shire Hall circa 1811. The curtain walls are listed Grade I and II. Part of the castle is scheduled. (PastScape)
The original earthwork here is regarded by King and Alcock as possibly a ringwork.
Although built by William I, except during minorities or once when forfeited to the Crown in 1174, the castle was a possession of the Earls of Chester. However, with the death of the last Earl in 1237, it permanently passed to the Crown. It was extensively renovated in 1246-51 during Henry III's Welsh Wars. (HKW Vol2) The Earldom of Chester remained a royal patrimony throughout the Mediaeval period, and the castle at Chester remained a centre of judicial activity. Expenditure on the castle was mainly in the form of maintenance, and usually inadequate at that. The only new construction between 1485 and 1649 was the Prince's Hall to provide accommodation for the shire court. Although never wholly neglected, the sums spent on the fabric of the castle were comparatively small. (HKW Vol3)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 452908)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ40486573

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 69135
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 3007/1 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Web site links
  • http://www.chesterwalls.info/castle.html
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/117/chestercastle.htm
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.145
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/chester.html
    http://www.matthewpemmott.co.uk/2008/11/chester-castle-chester.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Castle
• Books
  • Lewis, C.P. and Thacker, A.T. (eds), 2005, VCH Cheshire Vol5 Pt2 p204-13 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=57325
    Lewis, C.P. and Thacker, A.T. (eds), 2003, VCH Cheshire Vol5 Pt1 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=19184#p43
    Yates, Sarah (ed), 2002, Heritage Unlocked; Guide to free sites in the North West (London: English Heritage) p8-9
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Lancashire and Cheshire (Malvern) p13-15
    Ellis, P. et al, 1996, Excavations at Chester, Chester Castle (Chester Archaeology Excavation Survey Report No10)
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p14-16
    Carrington, P., 1994, English Heritage Book of Chester (London: English Heritage/Batsford)
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    Cullen, P.W. and Hordern, R., 1986, Castles of Cheshire (Crossbow Books) p12-16
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p67
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p207
    Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King's Works Vol3: 1485-1660 (part 1) p169-71
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pevsner, Nikolaus and Edward Hubbard, 1971, The Buildings of England: Cheshire (Harmondsworth)
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p607-612
    Ridgway, Maurice Hill, 1958, 'Medieval Castles' in Sylvester, D. and Nulty, G. (eds), The Historical Atlas of Cheshire (Cheshire Community Council) p24-5
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p126-8
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Barber, 1910, in Barber and Ditchfield, Memories of Old Cheshire (London) p57-60 [slight]
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p167-9
    Ormerod, G., 1882 [2edn], History of the County Palatine and city of Chester (London) Vol1 p358-62
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p119-123
    Lysons, D. and S., 1808-22, Magna Britannia Vol2 p569-70
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p17
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol1 p34-6 http://books.google.com/books?id=D01LAAAAMAAJ
• Journal Articles
  • Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106 p371-392 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28199104%29106%3A419%3C371%3AAHOCRI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p308
    Hough, P.R., 1982, ‘Chester Castle' Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin Vol8 p45-6
    Strickland, T.J. and Rutter, J.A., 1980-81, 'The castle: colonnade and archway' Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin Vol7 p39-40
    Strickland, T.J. and Rutter, J.A., 1980-81, 'The castle chapel' Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin Vol7 p40-1
    Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1977, ‘Medieval Britain in 1976' Medieval Archaeology Vol21 p243 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
    [Thompson], 1957, Medieval Archaeology Vol1 p156 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp19-64
    Thompson, Hamilton, 1937, Archaeological Journal Vol94 p310-11
    Simpson, Frank, 1925, 'Chester Castle AD 907-1925' Journal of the Archaeological, Archaeological and Historic Society, Chester and North Wales [new ser] Vol26 pt2 p71-132
    1910, Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol65 p217-8
    Cox, E.W., 1895, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society Vol5 pt2-3 p239-76
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p136-7
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities8.htm]
    William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/shropseng.html#ches7]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p55
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Donald Install Associates, 2001, Conservation plan, Chester Castle, for English Heritage