Monument record 984/1/0 - Frodsham Castle

<1> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol.II p.53 (Book). SCH1389.

The building was stone, the arches semicircular, of early Norman work, and the walls of enormous thickness, cemented by mortar which had acquired a hardness equal to that of the stone itself. The original uses were certainly military, but from the reign of (Edward III or Richard II and) Henry the Sixth to that of Elizabeth, it appears that it was used as the gaol of the manor. After the acquisition of the manor by the Savages, it became the residence of the family, and was burnt down on the night of the 10th October, 1654. The ruins were taken down to make way for the erection of a mansion called Park Place, [now Castle Park,] the residence of Daniel Ashley, esq. Parts of the thick foundation-walls of the castle, form the cellars of the house. An ancient lamp, a plate, a cannon-ball, and several coffins, were found amongst the ruins of the castle. An engraving shows the condition of the ruins in 1727.

<2> Thomspon, P, 1980, Frodsham: The Archaeological Potential of a Town, p.5-6 (Report). SCH1251.

Frodsham Castle was to be built with Chester, Beeston, and Shotwick as part of a defensive system, but was superseded once Beeston was completed. During thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it was used as a gaol. The term castle is probably inappropriate for a building which had become by the fourteenth century, a fortified manor house.

Despite repairs undertaken to the great hall in the early fourteenth century, the building collapsed in the middle of that century. The hall was rebuilt, with particular attention to the roof, and repairs were also undertaken to the tower. In the 1360s an oriel (a bay window in an upper storey) was constructed, reflecting a trend towards their construction as a form of sophistication, and this may represent the castle’s transition to that of a manor house. Other works at this time include the kitchens, which were rebuilt, stables, and other outbuildings in the castle grounds.

The castle could be approached through a gate on the west, and a bridge was constructed on the northern side, though there is no evidence of a moat. A palisade boundary on the western side suggests that fortification was minimal.

Further repairs and alterations to the kitchens, pantries, and butteries were carried out in the seventeenth century. The castle burnt down in 1654. The surviving ruins were levelled when Castle Park was built and the gardens landscaped, however, fragments of stonework are reputed to survive in the cellars of the present building.

<3> Frodsham Local History Group, 1985, Discovering Old Frodsham, p.6 (Booklet-Leaflet). SCH1051.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ 57 NW 9 (Index). SCH2487.

The Norman castle at Frodsham was burnt down in 1654. The only remains are some foundations incorporated into the cellars of Castle Park, built on the site in 1721. See (1). [B.R.S. 02/03/1962].

Mr Hawkin (Surveyors Department, Runcorn R.D.C.) confirmed that there are old walls in the cellars of Castle Park house. There is no trace of earthworks or of natural defences. [T.P. Waggot F.I. 16/06/1964].

<5> Davis, P, Unknown, The Gatehouse, Frodsham Castle Park (Web Site). SCH9735.

<6> Cathcart - King D J, 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum, p.68 (Book). SCH512.

Listed by Cathcart King as a vanished castle. It is mentioned in 1355 when its tower needed repairing. It `stood high'; its traditional site cannot be correct.

<7> Swallow, R, 2018, What law says that there has to be a castle? The castle landscape of Frodsham, Cheshire (Article in Book). SCH9736.

Frodsham's vanished castle is thought to have been built by the first Earl of Chester as the administrative centre of a pre-existing and substantial Anglo-Saxon estate originally held by King Edward the Confessor. There is no mention of the castle in the Domesday Book, and it is only from the fourteenth century that there is documentary evidence of a "castellum" at Frodsham. This term has been translated as "castle," but from the nineteenth century, it has been described as a "fortified manor house."

The fourteenth century documents describe an elite, seemingly weakly defended building with features such as gardens, barns, stables, a dovecote, and garderobes. Repairs and additions were made to the manor, including a new hall and kitchens. The tower, possibly built by Earl Ranulf de Blundeville, may have been fortified. The status of the site as a " castellum " might have been influenced more by the rank and prestige of its owners and antiquity and prestige of Frodsham than by the quality of its fortifications.

Evidence from cartographic research, LiDAR, and ground surveys suggests the presence of a motte and bailey castle site, but magnetometry surveys in 2013 did not support this theory. Instead, the banks and ditches identified might have been part of a moated enclosure for the manorial complex, and may predate the foundation of the borough (Anglo-Saxon). The mound in Castle Park could have been a garden mound, a flagpole mount, or a former windmill site, rather than a motte.

It is suggested that the Norman Earl of Chester retained the Anglo-Saxon hall as the focus of the estate rather than building a formal castle. The landscape context and the elite status of the site likely played a significant role in its designation as a "castellum."

<8> Castlering Archaeology, 2004, Castle Park, Frodsham, Cheshire: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment & Site Visit (Client Report). SCH4578.

Parts of the foundation walls of the castle were reputedly incorporated into the cellars of Park Place house. Examined during a site visit, the cellarage appears to contain occasional irregular-shaped masonry, which may have been salvaged and re-used from the medieval 'manor' house. The sandstones, where evident, were whitewashed-over, which prevented clear examination. The main foundation fabric, however, appears to be quarry cut ' tooled' sandstone, regularly coursed, which does not appear to pre-date the eighteenth century.

Although the house is considered to stand on the site of the medieval 'castle' or 'manor house', it seems likely that the Norman 'motte' would have been positioned on higher ground. No evidence of the likely site of the motte was located during the current assessment. Any ground disturbance within the parkland has the potential to reveal evidence of the site and extent of the former 'castle' or 'motte'.

<9> Ogilby J, 1675, Britannia Atlas (Maps and Plans). SCH2109.

<10> Castlering Archaeology, 2005, Castle Park House, Castle Park, Frodsham, Cheshire; Archaeological Watching Brief. (Client Report). SCH4730.

A watching brief was undertaken at Castle park House in 2005 in advance of renovation and restoration of the house, with the aim of gaining more information on the location of the early castle or manor house. The works on site included the lowering of floor levels within the basement of Castle Park House, the demolition of the modern council chamber and reductions in ground levels over the area formerly occupied by the council chamber. However, no evidence of a house earlier than the eighteenth century building was discovered. The present building appears to have been constructed entirely on sand.