Pulford Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Poulefourd; Pulsford

In the civil parish of Pulford.
In the historic county of Cheshire.
Modern Authority of Cheshire.
1974 county of Cheshire.
Medieval County of Cheshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ37535870
Latitude 53.12176° Longitude -2.93494°

Pulford Castle has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Motte and bailey castle surviving as an earthwork, comprising a mound with a strong encircling earthwork, except on the south where the defence is the Pulford brook. Mentioned in late C12. Garrisoned in 1403 (This reference, from Ormerod, is not absolutely certain; the owner was told to go to his estates and guard them, but the castle does not seem to be mentioned). Camden writes "Poulefourd, where in the reigne of Henrie the Third Sir Raulph of Ormesby had his Castle"

Pulford Castle. First mentioned in the late C12. The manor belonged to the Canons of St Werburgh and to Hugh Fitz Osbern in 1086. Later the Ormesbees and the Pulfords held it between them. C.1245 the Ormesbees granted their share of the manor and castle to the Pulfords. In 1403 Sir Thomas le Grosvenor was ordered by Henry IV to hold Pulford Castle against Owen Glendower. Castle is situated on the north bank of Pulford Brook immediately southwest of St Mary's churchyard. The earthworks are well preserved. (Cheshire HER)

Motte of Pulford Castle. Motte is 3m high, 9m across the top W-E and 11m N-S. Slopes south towards the stream which serves as southern boundary of the site's defences. There has been a certain amount of soil slip and old sheep paths on the south side of the motte. The motte is surrounded by a shallow ditch 5-6m wide on all sides except the south, where the stream lies. Traces of outer bank to the SE of Motte and substantial bank between stream and bailey. Bailey lies to NW of Motte. (Cheshire HER)

mentioned in a document of about 1190-1200 (Tudor copy in Lincoln Archives Office, M.M. 1/3/1) when one Hacon agreed to hold Lincolnshire lands – et faciet servicium unius militis ad custodiam de Pulford scilicet per quadragesime dies unoquoque anno. (Renn 1973)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1012078, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 13419
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 66937.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 1830/1/0; 1830/1/1; 1830/1/2.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Jeff Thomas's Castles of Wales
  CastleUK.net
  Charles Taylor's ecastles
Books
- Grimsditch, Brian, Nevell, Michael and Nevell, Richard, 2012, Buckton Castle and the Castles of the North West England (University of Salford Archaeological Monograph 2) p. 112
  Salter, Mike, 2002, Index and Amendments to Mike Salter's English Castles Books (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 10
  Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Lancashire and Cheshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 21
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 17 (slight)
  Cullen, P.W. and Hordern, R., 1986, Castles of Cheshire (Crossbow Books) p. 10
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 68
  Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p. 282
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 288
  Ridgway, Maurice Hill, 1958, 'Medieval Castles' in Sylvester, D. and Nulty, G. (eds), The Historical Atlas of Cheshire (Cheshire Community Council) p. 24-5
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 178 online copy
  Ormerod, G., 1882 (2edn), History of the County Palatine and city of Chester (London) Vol. 2 p. 857
  Ormerod, G., 1819, History of the County Palatine and city of Chester (London) Vol. 2 p. 460-62 (tenurial history) online copy
Periodical Articles
- Swallow, Rachel, 2016, 'Cheshire Castles of the Irish Sea Cultural Zone' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 173.2 p. 288-341
  Reynolds, Susan and White, Graeme, 1997-98, 'A Survey of Pulford Castle' Cheshire History Vol. 37 p. 23-25
  Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 116 p. 71-132 (survived into C13 without being rebuilt in stone)
  Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124
  Brown, R. Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' The English Historical Review Vol. 74 p. 249-280 (Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 90-121) view online copy (subscription required)
  Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 46 p. 197-217 esp. 202 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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