Macclesfield Castle Field (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ905726
Latitude 53.25014° Longitude -2.14394°

Macclesfield Castle Field has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Vanished Norman castle 'was situated near the Park Lanes'. Cullen writes probably in Castle Field next to the Congleton Road. No traces of a mound were visible during field investigation in 1962 and the area was under development. (PastScape)

The site of the Park which the earls of Chester had at Macclesfield is supposed to have been near the Park-lane, lying S.W. of the town, between the roads severally leading to Knutsford and Congleton. Near the Congleton road is a place called the Castle Field, which was probably the site of the local palace of theearls of Chester. In this a circular mount, or tumulus, is still remaining. (Ormerod)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 78275.
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Books
- Cullen, P.W. and Hordern, R., 1986, Castles of Cheshire (Crossbow Books) p. 12
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 176 online copy
  Finney, Issac, 1873, Macklesfelde in Ye Olden Time online copy
  Ormerod, G., 1819, History of the County Palatine and city of Chester (London) Vol. 3 p. 366 (tenurial history) online copy
Periodical Articles
- Birkett, R.E., 1995-96, 'Macclesfield Castle Mound and Manor House' Cheshire History Vol. 35 p. 10-1

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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