West Derby Castle

[wsteve55]

I think it was Chris, who asked for any pic's of the site of West Derby castle, so i took these the other day.Not much sign of anything really,though!!

[ChrisGeorge]

I think it was Chris, who asked for any pic's of the site of West Derby castle, so i took these the other day.Not much sign of anything really,though!!

Yes I did! Thanks for remembering, Steve. I appreciate seeing these pics. Fine work, Steve.

I wonder if there is still an actual field off "Castlesite Road" where the castle stood, maybe behind the houses? I did understand that the outline of the castle was visible at one time.

We should be clear by the way also that this was a "motte and bailey castle" not a stone castle as was Liverpool Castle. In other words, it was a wooden castle built on earthworks as shown in the drawing below. I understand that sometime in the twentieth century, the vague outline of the bailey hill and the motte (i.e., moat) was still visible.... and maybe still is if you can confirm it. There are extant remains of motte and bailey castles around the country and one of them is "William's Hill" west of the better known Middleham Castle in Yorkshire. As you can see this is really not what most people would conceive of as a "castle." It is the basic, somewhat primitive earthwork fortification that the Normans built when they conquered and occupied Saxon England. Although this apparently did not happen with West Derby Castle, which seems to have been abandoned after a few decades of use, some stone castles were later built on the bailey hill, and Clifford's Tower in York is an example.

Chris

[MarkA]

Unfortunately there's no outline visible from the overhead

Flash Earth link...http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=53.43....6&r=0&src=ggl



Motte and bailey castle, identified through excavation in 1927 and 1956-7. The castle was built circa 1100 by Roger de Poitou and repaired between 1197 and 1202. It was abandoned by 1297 and levelled in 1817. C14 or C15 house, built over the infilled ditch was also identified. A possible early mill site was identified during the excavations. Only faint earthwork traces now survive of this castle. The Pipe Rolls of 1213 records a garrison in West Derby castle of 140 foot soldiers, 10 Knights and 10 Crossbow men. Recorded as ruined by 1326.

[Kev]

Excellent thread, info and pics

[ChrisGeorge]

Thanks for that aerial view and information on the archaeological investigation of the site, MarkA.

Chris

[leelad05]

Thi is Brilliant, learn something new everyday as the saying goes, This is amazing to find out there was once a castle, anymore news on were it actually stood?