Fortified Britain
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Newcastle-under-Lyme Castle
- Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire
- OSGB – SJ 8445 4595
- Scheduled Monument
- Grade II Listed Building.
Medieval motte castle measuring 246ft by 328ft with the motte measuring 85.3ft by 131.2ft at its base and 59ft by 85.3ft at the top and standing 13.1ft high. Defended by a ditch measuring 32.8ft wide.
The River Lyme was dammed to supply water to the moat.
1149 Documented. Granted by King Stephen to Ranulf de Gernon, Earl of Chester.
1153 Ranulf de Gernon died and the castle went to the Crown.
1169 £6 was spent on the castle bridge.
1171 £37 was spent on the castle.
1174 Two houses were added to the castle.
1189-1190 Wooden platforms were added to the defences.
1190-1193 Held by the Sheriff.
1191 Repairs were made to the chapel and the King’s House.
1193 One of the towers had stone added to it.
1194 £4 17s was spent on the castle pool. Repairs made to the King’s Houses.
1195 Repairs made to the King’s Houses.
1196 Repairs were made to the bridge.
1197 Repairs made to the King’s Houses.
1199 Gaol in the castle was repaired.
12th C End: King John carried out works on the castle costing £200.
12th C Dating from: Excavations produced a long, narrow building with pilaster buttresses which may have been a 70ft high tower on the site.
12th-13th C Strengthened.
1200-1201 Repairs made to the gaol.
1202 Repairs made to the bridge costing £24 3s 4d.
1203 King’s Houses, mills and Mill pond had costs amounting to £14 16s.
1204 £37 was spent on repairs to the castle.
1205 The Sheriff was ordered to cut local wood for repairs to the castle.
1206 Repairs made to the gaol.
1206 March: King John stayed at the castle.
1207 £54 6s 9d, and £40 was spent on general repairs to the castle.
1208 Castle repairs cost £20.
1209 Castle repairs cost £10.
1214 Castle repairs cost £5.
1215 King John gave it to Ranulf de Blunderville, Earl of Chester.
1232 Ranulf de Blunderville died and it was granted to Gilbert de Segrave.
1234 Henry III appointed Adam Esturmy as Keeper.
1238 Granted to Henry de Audley.
1239 Constable Robert de Tissington was ordered to spend £10 to repair the bank.
1246 Henry de Audley died and it was granted to Hugh de Frodsham.
1250 Hugh de Frodsham was ordered to hand the castle over to James de Audley. Hugh de Chania was Constable.
1251 Hugh de Frodsham was Constable and was given £15 to repair the pallisade, bridge and mill pond, and James de Audley was given £20 for castle repairs.
1253 William de Fenton was Constable. Pool was repaired again.
1264 Henry III granted it to Simon de Montford, Earl of Leicester.
1267 Henry III granted it to his youngest son, Edmund, Earl of Leicester.
1272-1307 During: Constables were Richard Aubyn, Robert le Venur and Adam de Levendene.
1296 Edmund, Earl of Leicester died and his son Earl Edmund inherited the castle.
1318 Roger de Tissington was Constable.
1322 Earl Edmund was executed for treason and his wife, Alice, daughter of the Earl of Lincoln, held it in Dower.
1342 Stephen de Yrton was Constable.
1348 Alice died and Henry, Earl of Lancaster held the castle.
1356 John de Rocheford was Constable.
1361 Henry, Earl of Lancaster died and his eldest daughter, Maud, wife of William, Duke of Bavaria held the castle.
1362 Maud died and it passed to her sister, Blanche, wife of John of Gaunt.
1362 Leased to Sir Geoffrey Foljambe.
1374 Sir Geoffrey Foljambe surrendered the lease. Walter de Staunton and Oliver de Barton were Constables at the castle and ordered to repair the houses.
1375 Repairs cost 100 marks.
1387 £3 2s 1d was spent on the windows and repairs to the halls.
1399 Bridge repaired.
1408 Sir John Blount was Constable.
1420 John Kyngeley was Constable.
1423 Bridge repaired.
1428 £8 11s 4d was spent on the hallway, chimney and repairs to a house.
1429 £3 19s was paid for making new gates.
1438 Robert Whitgreve was Constable.
1446 The bridge and pallisades were repaired.
1447 Edward Ellesmere was Constable.
1451 Bridge repaired.
1461 Ralph Wolseley was Constable.
1474 Hugh Eggerton was Constable.
1477 £3 15s 10d was spent on the pool.
1478 £1 5s 6d was spent on repairs.
1480 £1 5s 6d was spent on repairs.
1485 Sir John Savage was Constable.
1540-1546 Itinerary of John Leland: Ruins.
1541 Few remains.
1610 In a bad state and leased to Ralph Sneyd.
1650 Ralph Sneyd’s grandson, Ralph held the lease.
1698 Ralph Sneyd sub-let the castle to Thomas Hemmings, and he leased it on to John Wailey.
1702-1714 During: Leased to William Burslem.
1723 William Burslem’s son, Thomas, let it to Samuel Proctor. 1828 Walter Sneyd of Keele purchased the castle from the Duchy for £170.
1843 By: The pool had been mostly repaired.
1849 Walter Sneyd was ordered to clean up the pool as it smelt badly.
1855 The Castle Hill Iron Foundry was built on part of the site and caused considerable damage.
1935 The site and land had been bought by the Iron Foundry Corporation.
1939 The site was converted into a public park.
1944 The grounds, called the Queen Elizabeth Garden, was opened to the public.