Description

SJ 55 NW BEESTON C.P. (Off) CASTLE ROAD

5/8 Walls, towers and
gatehouse of the Inner
1.3.67 Bailey at Beeston
Castle. (Formerly listed
as Beeston Castle)
GV I
Walls, gatehouse and towers of inner bailey. c1220 altered late
C13/early C14. Built by Ranulf de Blundeville, 7th Earl of Chester.
Crudely coursed red sandstone. Roughly rectangular enclosure of which
approximately half is now demolished. Entrance front: central
gateway with D-shaped towers with lateral arrow slits and central
pointed gate-arch with rebate. The left-hand turret has the voussoirs
of a blocked pointed arch to the lower wall. To the left is curtain
walling with the lower courses of a further D-shaped tower. To the
right is a similar stretch of walling roughly repaired with rubble at
its centre with a D-shaped tower slightly to the left of the right
hand corner. The right hand (eastern) wall has a similar D-shaped
tower to the centre of the wall.

On the death of Ranulf de Blundeville's nephew the castle passed to
the Crown. In the late C13 and early C14 Edward I carried out
modernising alterations including raising the height of the inner
bailey walls and crenellating them. By the late C16 Leland described
the castle as "shattered and ruinous". In 1643 it was partially
repaired and occupied by parliamentary troops and taken by Royalist
forces in the same year. It was partially demolished in 1646 to
prevent its repeated use as a stronghold. Archaeological evidence of
Bronze and Iron age settlements on the site has been found.

Listing NGR: SJ5370659267

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26263508

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy