Site Event/Activity record ECH6446 - Robina McNeil's Excavations at Halton Castle, 1986-1987

Excavation programme undertaken by Robina McNeil between 1986-7, using people from the Manpower Services Scheme, and supported by the Warrington and Runcorn Corporation and North West Archaeological Trust. A total of nine trenches were excavated, most of which were located at the north and west ends of the castle. One trench was also located immediately south of the castle in the car park area. The trenching, of varying depth and size, revealed a significant array of archaeological deposits, features and structures, providing evidence, in particular, for the early development of the castle. However, due to vandalism, some of the trenches could not be fully excavated. The excavations revealed a history dating the origins of the castle to the twelfth century. No actual physical evidence for a motte and bailey castle was identified through excavation, although the natural topography of the hill lends itself to a high small inner bailey and large, flat outer. McNeil interpreted the inner bailey as a form of shell keep castle, and associated with this, a substantial rock cut ditch was recorded, separating the inner bailey from the outer bailey. It was up to 4.5m in width and 1.4m deep, with vertical sides and flat bottom; its western extent has been largely removed by the cellars of later, thirteenth century stone buildings. No finds were recovered from the primary silts of the ditch to help with dating, although it was back-filled with sandstone rubble in the thirteenth century (pottery was recovered from the back fill). The trench located south of the castle was excavated to investigate the vulnerable southern approach to the castle, no rock cut ditch was recorded but, here, and all round the inner bailey, the bedrock had been scarped back to produce a near vertical face, which had been also slightly contoured, for defensive purposes. The rock cut ditch, scarping of bedrock and shell keep (although the latter was not identified through excavation) are all considered contemporary, likely dating to the latter half of the twelfth century. No evidence for timber buildings within the inner bailey were identified with exception to a single post-hole. However, the fact that the later stone buildings occur only in the northern half of the inner bailey may indicate that the plan of the original timber buildings was the same, so evidence for these has been removed by the later stone buildings. The castle appears to have been modified during the thirteenth century. A square tower was built over the in-filled rock-cut ditch in the thirteenth century. It measured approximately 10m by 8m. The foundations remain where they overlie the rock-cut ditch, but those positioned over the bedrock have been robbed out. The tower would have stood to a height of at least 15m and would have comprised two floors and an undercroft. Its initial use was as a defensive structure with commanding views to the north and west, however, the rooms within would also have provided comfortable living accommodation, and a potential chapel, for the Barons. A circular or D-shaped mural tower was added to the north side of the outer bailey. It had an external diameter of 12m and a central spine wall giving stability. However, the spine wall was located over a natural fissure making it inheritantly unstable and requiring later repair; also the spine wall was thought to be earlier than the tower and potentially represented part survival of an earlier curtain wall. This tower was demolished in the seventeeth century. Also added in the thirteenth century was the courtyard buildings within the north half of the inner bailey area. The buildings probably comprised three storeys and were built over a series of rock-cut cellars. The building next to the square tower was potentially a kitchen as there was a serving hatch in its east wall. In the fifteenth century, a garderobe and a sally porte, were constructed along with a gatehouse comprising twin polygonal gate towers (1450-7). The round tower was demolished and curtain wall re-built. There was some evidence for occupation during the Civil War but generally the seventeenth century was a period of abandonment and neglect. In 1727 a courthouse and gaol were constructed along the southern section of the outer bailey curtain wall replacing the former gatehouse and using stone from its demolition. Six semi-circular bays positioned across the outer bailey are thought to represent the gaol lock-ups. The upper-most stratigraphy in many of the trenches revealed archaeological deposits and features dating to the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. One trench indicates that the follies were erected around 1800, at which time the sunken gardens were made, along with modifications to the lock-ups, as well as consolidation of the curtain wall and potential levelling of the inner and outer baileys. The excavations recovered a substantial amount and range of pottery, although only a small amount was from well stratified contexts. The earliest pottery, dating from the twelfth to fifteenth century, was predominantly green glaze jugs, cooking pots and jars. Later wares, dating between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, included coarse and fine Cistercian wares and Midland Purple wares. Later still the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are represented by Mildand Blackware and Mildand Yellow Ware, Slipware and Chocolate Diped ware. A good range of clay tobacco pipe fragments were also recovered dating to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. One find of particular note was a horse burial in a rectangular cut within the looser fill of the rock-cut ditch, located next to the outer wall of the rectangular tower. Over 70 per cent of the horse skeleton was present. It appears to have died of natural causes and possibly was a Welsh Cob. Several sherds of a Cistercian ware beaker were also recovered from the pit dating it to the sixteenth century. (1) See sources 2-3 for back ground information on the project. (2-3)