Monument record 10872 - Castle - Twelfth Century

Following the developments described by CHER 10871 and its sub-monuments, the castle became the palace of a Norman earldom until 1237 for which very little documentation survives, with the exception of the minorities of Hugh II (1153 – 1181) and Ranulf III (1181 – 1232) when the castle came into the hands of the king. During these minorities a sum of £102 was spent on the castle, and a further £20 on the castle bridge. The location of this bridge may have been in front of the building known as the Agricola Tower, thought to be of late twelfth century construction. Examination of this building has led to the conclusion that it had originally functioned as a gatehouse, with evidence for a gateway in the north wall, which was blocked up in the thirteenth century. On the grounds of the castle’s developing plan and the technical innovations of thirteenth century castle architecture, the square angle towers of the inner bailey (including the building known as the guard tower) were probably erected at the same time as the Agricola tower. Although no direct evidence exists to support this, the sum of £375 spent on ‘the work of the city’ between 1161 – 1162 and may have included work done on the castle, or alternately the £40 spent between 1181 – 1187 may have accounted for some of these additions. The next phase of major development at the castle is represented by CHER 10873 and its sub-monuments, and summarises the largely thirteenth century developments (7).

<1> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, /4/609 (Report). SCH1934.

<2> English Heritage, Information Board in Agricola Tower (Book). SCH1485.

<3> Simpson F, 1925, Chester Castle, A.D. 907-1925, Simpson F 1925 26/71-132 (Article in Journal). SCH5695.

<4> Cox, E W, 1895, Chester Castle, Cox E W 1895 5/239-276 (Article in Journal). SCH5599.

<5> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, Richards R 1947 /101-2 (Book). SCH2309.

<6> Pevsner N & Hubbard E, 1971, The Buildings of England: Cheshire, /157-158 (Book). SCH3078.

<7> English Heritage, 2001, Chester Castle Conservation Plan (Unpublished Report). SCH6281.

<8> Ellis P, 1996, Excavations at Chester: Chester Castle the 17th century armoury and mint (Monograph). SCH6159.