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Beeston Castle is a former Castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (), perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from the Crusades. In 1237, Henry III took over the ownership of Beeston, and it was kept in good repair until the 16th century, when it was considered to be of no further military use, although it was pressed into service again in 1643, during the English Civil War. The castle was slighted (partly demolished) in 1646, in accordance with Oliver Cromwell's destruction order, to prevent its further use as a bastion. During the 18th century, parts of the site were used as a quarry.
The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument owned and managed by English Heritage. The walls of the outer bailey and the gatehouse and curtain walls of the inner bailey are recorded separately in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade I listed buildings. A legend states that the royal treasure of Richard II was buried in the castle grounds but many searches have failed to discover the hoard.
The crag, just like the neighbouring Peckforton Hills, is part of a thicker sequence known as the New Red Sandstone. It was formed from easterly dipping layers of Triassic sandstone. The lower slopes are formed from Wilmslow Sandstone Formation while the upper strata are part of the Helsby Sandstone Formation, which is around 245 million years old. The hillock is capped by a small outcrop of sandstones assigned to the Tarporley Siltstone Formation (and formerly known as the Keuper Waterstones). Both types of sandstones were once quarried at multiple sites within the castle grounds.
Along the eastern margin of the hill is the Peckforton Fault, a major north–south-aligned geological fault which downthrows the strata to the east.British Geological Survey England and Wales sheet 109 Chester (solid edition)1986 A low ridge of glacial moraine extending east from the castle lodge is interpreted as marking an ice front during the retreat (or stagnation in situ) of the Irish Sea ice sheet which had invaded Cheshire from the northwest during the last ice age.
The outer bailey was roughly rectangular, with thick walls faced in sandstone and infilled with rubble. The walls, parts of which still remain, contain a number of D-shaped towers, an innovation in English castles at that time. The towers allowed defenders to shoot across the walls as well as forwards, and their open-backed design meant that they would not offer cover to any attackers who gained access to the outer bailey. The inner bailey was on the rocky summit at the western end of the crag.
To provide the castle's inhabitants with a supply of fresh water, two wells were dug into the rock; one of them, deep, is one of the deepest castle wells in England.
In 1254 Henry gave Beeston, together with other lands in Cheshire, to his son Prince Edward. He also gave the title Earl of Chester to the prince, a title that has been conferred on the heir to the throne of England ever since. During the Montfortian rebellion, in 1265, the castle was retaken from the Monfortians by James de Audley and Urian de Saint Pierre, following Edward's escape from captivity. The County Palatine had been briefly claimed by Simon de Montfort in January 1265. Edward succeeded Henry as King of England in 1272, and completed the conquest of Wales.
In the middle of the 14th century there are references to men of Cheshire who were made constables of the royal castle. The constable would probably have lived in or near the gatehouse. The habitation was described in an account of the castle in 1593 by Sampson Erdeswicke, which describes, "a goodly strong gatehouse, and strong wall with other buildings, which when they flourished were a convenient habitation for any great personage."
Beeston was kept in good repair and improved during Edward's reign, and throughout the 14th century. However, by the 16th century the castle was considered to be of no further use to the English Crown, and in 1602 it was sold to Sir Hugh Beeston (c. 1547–1626) of Beeston Hall.
There have been persistent rumours of a treasure hidden by Richard II somewhere in the castle grounds. Richard is supposed to have hidden part of his personal wealth at Beeston on his journey to Chester in 1399, before boarding a ship to Ireland to suppress a rebellion there. On his return, Richard was deposed by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, the future Henry IV, and his treasure is said to have remained undiscovered. Many searches have been carried out, most of them focusing on the deep well in the inner bailey, but nothing has ever been found. The rumour of hidden treasure may not be well founded, as Henry IV is recorded as having "recovered Richard's gold and jewellery from its various hiding places".
The Cavalier survived a siege by parliamentary forces from November 1644 until November 1645, when their lack of food forced them to surrender. The castle was partially demolished in 1646, to prevent its further use as a stronghold.
In 1840 the castle was purchased by John Tollemache, 1st Baron Tollemache, at that time the largest landowner in Cheshire, as part of a larger estate. In the mid-19th century the castle was the site of an annual two-day fete, raising money for local widows and orphans and attracting more than 3,000 visitors a day.
The views from Beeston stretch across eight counties from the Pennines in the east to the Welsh mountains in the west.
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Categories: Buildings And Structures Completed In 1228, Castles In Cheshire, English Heritage Sites In Cheshire, Former Populated Places In Cheshire, Grade I Listed Buildings In Cheshire, Grade I Listed Castles, History Of Cheshire, Ruins In Cheshire, Scheduled Monuments In Cheshire, Tourist Attractions In Cheshire, Hill Castles
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