Source/Archive record SCH8335 - Halton Castle: Conservation Management Plan (Volumes 1-3)

Conservation Management Plan produced for Halton Castle in 2006. It is a Grade I listed building, a Scheduled Monument and the surrounding village has been designated as a Conservation Area. The plan provides a comprehensive review of understanding for the site and presents a set of policies to underpin the future management of the site and its preservation for future generations. The sandstone castle, now in ruinous state, is thought to date back to the twelfth century, though may be on the site of an earlier timber structure and potentially an Iron Age hillfort, although evidence for both is yet to be found. Its decline and redevelopment for use as a courthouse and prison have left the site with a complex mix of standing historic fabric and buried archaeology. It consists of an outer curtain wall, a square tower, a group of courtyard buildings, a former courthouse building, six 'lock-ups', two folly structures and the remains of a nineteenth century sunken garden, together with below-ground archaeological remains. Originally a defensive castle constructed for William Fitznigel, Second Baron of Halton, it has also been used as, or in conjunction with, a domestic residence, hunting lodge, prison, courthouse, romantic garden feature, public house and pleasure gardens. It also forms part of the broader histories of the strategic defence of Cheshire, the government and justice of the region, and the development of Halton village. Whilst the Castle and its site have immense local and regional significance, due to their age, association with historic figures and archaeological potential, it also has considerable national significance as a rare example of a shell keep. The relationship between Halton Castle and Norton Priory is one of historic significance, as the foundation of the Augustinian Priory was due to the interest and influence of the second Baron of Halton, William Fitznigel (1080-1134). Together, Halton Castle and Norton Priory form part of the Borough's surviving medieval landscape. In addition to existing research done in relation to the site, in particular Robina McNeil's excavations undertaken in 1986-7, the management plan includes the results of further detailed inspection and photographic recording of the castle, also further desk-based survey. The sandstone castle, constructed in the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, now in ruinous state. Its decline and redevelopment for use as a courthouse and prison have left the site with a complex mix of standing historic fabric and buried archaeology. It consists of an outer curtain wall, a square tower, a group of courtyard buildings, a former courthouse building, six 'lock-ups', two folly structures and the remains of a nineteenth century sunken garden, together with below-ground archaeological remains. Originally a defensive castle constructed for William Fitznigel, Second Baron of Halton, it has also been used as, or in conjunction with, a domestic residence, hunting lodge, prison, courthouse, romantic garden feature, public house and pleasure gardens. It also forms part of the broader histories of the strategic defence of Cheshire, the government and justice of the region, and the development of Halton village. Whilst the Castle and its site have immense local and regional significance, due to their age, association with historic figures and archaeological potential, it also has considerable national significance as a rare example of a shell keep. Together with Norton Priory, it forms part of the surviving medieval landscape.