- Type
- Castle
- Origins
- 11th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- England, United Kingdom
- Coordinates
- 53.3331°, -2.6958°
History
Construction of the first timber motte-and-bailey castle on the summit of Halton Hill began in 1071 under Nigel of Cotentin, first Baron of Halton, who had received the land from Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester. In the 13th century it was replaced by a sandstone castle. In the 14th century the barony passed to the house of Lancaster, and when Henry Bolingbroke, Baron of Halton, became King Henry IV in 1399 the castle became the property of the Duchy of Lancaster, which still owns it; in later centuries it served mainly as a courthouse and prison. In the Civil War the castle was besieged twice, in 1643 and 1644, and in 1646 a council of war at Warrington decided that its defences should be dismantled. In 1737 a courthouse was built on the site of the gatehouse, later turned into an inn.
What to see
Fragments of the stone curtain wall and towers stand on the hilltop, and the old courthouse is now a pub, The Castle. From below the walls there is a broad panorama of the Mersey estuary, the Runcorn bridges, Widnes and the Cheshire plain. On the east side are sham walls, added around 1800 to make the ruins look more impressive from the nearby Norton Priory house.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q2301986
Popularity: articles about this site in 16 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).