Buckton Castle
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| Buckton Castle | |
 View of Buckton Castle from below |
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  Shown within Greater Manchester
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| Building information | |
|---|---|
| Town | Carrbrook, Stalybridge, Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Client | William de Neville |
| Completion date | Late 12th century |
| Style | Ringwork castle |
| Size | 0.1237 hectares (0.306 acres) |
Buckton Castle is a medieval ringwork in the manor of Tintwistle near Carrbrook, Stalybridge, England.[1][2] It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument due to its proximity to the Buckton Vale Quarry and is the oldest surviving building in the Tame valley.[3] The castle is oval, with a 3-metre (9.8 ft) wide stone curtain wall, surrounded by a ditch 10 metres (33 ft) wide and 6 metres (20 ft) deep. The site has provided archaeological evidence dating back to the 8th and 10th centuries, but the castle was probably constructed in the late 12th century; it is recorded as lying derelict by 1360. Later uses of the site included a beacon for the Pilgrimage of Grace in the 16th century, and an anti-aircraft decoy site in World War II. During the 18th century, the castle was of interest to treasure hunters following rumours of the presence of buried treasure.
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[edit] Location
Buckton Castle is situated on Buckton Hill, a steep sandstone ridge about 335 metres (1,100 ft) above sea level (grid reference SD98920162). To the south is the valley of the Carr Brook, and to the west is the valley of the River Tame. Buckton Vale Quarry is close to the east of the castle. Stalybridge is about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south east of the site.[4] The castle's positioning may have been to allow it to guard the Tame Valley.[5]
[edit] History
Buckton Castle was probably built by William de Neville, lord of Longdendale, in the late 12th century;[3] which would make it contemporaneous with other castles in Greater Manchester such as Dunham, Manchester, Stockport, and Ullerwood.[6] It was probably the centre of lordship of Longdendale, as it is the only castle within the lordship.[7] The earliest documented evidence dating the castle was in 1360 stating "there is one ruined castle called Buckeden and of no value";[8] by this time the castle lay derelict. That the castle had fallen out of use by this period is consistent with the use of other castles in the Greater Manchester area; by the 13th century, apart from at Dunham Castle, there was no indication of activity in castles in Greater Manchester. During the 16th century, the site was used as a beacon during the Pilgrimage of Grace.[9]
The castle has been the subject of antiquarian studies since the 18th century. It was originally thought to have been the site of an Iron Age hill fort. The site has been damaged by the random insertion of trenches by treasure hunters since the early 18th century.[4] Quarrying in the nearby Buckton Vale Quarry threatened to encroach onto the site and led to the castle’s protection as a Scheduled Ancient Monument on 9 July 1924.[4] During the Second World War, the site was used as an anti-aircraft decoy site; however it was disused by 1943 as it was no longer needed.[10] Excavations on the castle have been performed by the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit (UMAU) since 1996 for Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council.[4]
[edit] Layout
The castle is oval, 35 metres (110 ft) across the minor axis and 45 metres (150 ft) along the major axis, and surrounded by a 10-metre (33 ft) wide and 6-metre (20 ft) deep ditch dug into the sandstone. The entrance to the ringwork is to the northwest of the site. Near the entrance are the possible remains of a stone tower. On the south-facing side of the site are the remains of a stone curtain wall 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick.[11] Excavations in 1996 by the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit have shown that what was thought to be the bailey was in fact of recent origin and did not date back to the medieval period.[3][12] According to a 1360 survey of property in Longdendale, Buckton Castle may have had a hall and a chapel.[6]
The interior of the castle is artificially raised 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) above ground level.[3] Ringworks were an uncommon form of fortification in medieval England, with the majority of castles being motte-and-baileys, as demonstrated by the fact that Buckton Castle was one of only three ringworks in the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire.[13] Buckton may be a ringwork because the local soil was too thin to build a motte.[13]
In the 18th century, antiquarian Thomas Percival recorded a well within the castle and walls of buildings inside the castle still standing to a height of 2 metres (6.6 ft). However, these features were no longer obvious when George Ormerod wrote about the castle in 1817.[14]
[edit] See also
[edit] Gallery
 A view of the defensive ditch surrounding the castle. |
[edit] References
- ^ The site was thought to be an Iron Age hill fort prior to Forde-Johnston’s study of the hill forts of Lancashire and Cheshire. The castle seems to be inconsistent with other known hill forts. Forde-Johnston (1962), p. 11–12.
- ^ King and Alcock (1969), p. 117.
- ^ a b c d Nevell (1998), p. 60-61, 63.
- ^ a b c d Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 5.
- ^ Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 7.
- ^ a b Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 8.
- ^ Nevell and Walker (1999), p. 95.
- ^ P. Booth, M. Harrop & S. Harrop (1976-8). The Extent of Longdendale, 1360. Cheshire Sheaf, 5th series, #83.
- ^ Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 8.
- ^ Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 14.
- ^ Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 16.
- ^ Buckton Castle investigation history. Pastscape.org.uk. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
- ^ a b Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 10.
- ^ Grimsditch, Nevell, and Redhead (2007), p. 12.
[edit] Bibliography
- Cathcart King and Alcock (1969). Ringworks of England and Wales. Chateau Gaillard.
- Forde-Johnston (1962). The Iron Age Hillforts of Lancashire and Cheshire. Trans Lancashire Cheshire Antiq. Society 72.
- Brian Grimsditch, Mike Nevell, and Norman Redhead (September 2007). Buckton Castle: An Archaeological Evaluation of a Medieval Ringwork – an Interim Report. University of Manchester Archaeological Unit.
- Mike Nevell (1998). Lands and Lordships in Tameside. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 60-61, 63. ISBN 1-871324-18-1.
- Mike Nevell and John Walker (1999). Tameside in Transition. Tameside Metropolitan Borough with University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 95. ISBN 1-871324-24-6.
