Poulton Lancelyn (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Poulton Hall

In the civil parish of Bebington.
In the historic county of Cheshire.
Modern Authority of Wirral.
1974 county of Merseyside.
Medieval County of Cheshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ33638159
Latitude 53.32708° Longitude -2.99973°

Poulton Lancelyn has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Poulton Lancelyn was the home of the Poulton Lancelyn family from C12 "The former hall stood at a short distance from the present one, on a high knoll overhanging the dale below, and within the ancient castle of the Lancelyns, the site of which is still (early C19) indicated by slight traces of earthworks, and was remarkably strong, defended by the dale in front and on the two sides by deep ravines issuing from it" (Ormerod). Sully says that traces of the mound and earthworks could still be seen c.1886, and Ellison in 1955 says there were very few remains, but a few yards of walling at the bottom of the Hall garden were evidently part of the castle. It is to this piece of wall (? part of Ormerod's Old Hall) that the OS publication refers. Mr. Lancelyn Green, a descendant of the Poulton Lacelyn family, pointed out two pieces of walling which are the traditional remains of the castle. They are at SJ 33638159 and SJ 33678163 and are of unweathered red sandstone and Storeton stone. The former portion is incorporated in a garden wall and the latter in a barn. Neither is more than 0.3 m. thick and cannot be assessed as part of the castle. There is no trace of earthworks or any evidence of a castle having existed here. Ormerod's description of the site is generally correct, though he exaggerated its natural strength and the high knoll he refers to does not exist (Field Investigators Comments–F1 JR 20-NOV-64). (PastScape)

Comments

Supposed site of Medieval castle at Poulton Hall. King writes "some nondescript remains of masonry" There are no traces of earthworks or little evidence of a castle having existed here. Some distance from parish church and isolated, but may be an area of dispersed medieval settlement. This is a site which could have been of some slight strategic value since it overlooks a river crossing and was clearly the home of a family of some importance so it is likely that at during the middle ages it would have been crenellated, but probably not meaningful fortified, beyond its natural position.

Ormerod states the manor was held for 20 marks and 'the service of sending four men every third year to repair the earthworks of Doddleston castle'.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 67354.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) MME2503.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Poulton Hall
  Historic Houses Association
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Lancashire and Cheshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 21 (slight)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 69 (possible)
  Ellison, N., 1956, The Wirral Peninsula p. 157
  Ormerod, G., 1882 (2edn-original published 1819), History of the County Palatine and city of Chester (London) Vol. 2 p. 440
  Sulley, P., 1886, The Hundred of Wirral p. 314
  Ormerod, G., 1819, History of the County Palatine and city of Chester (London) Vol. 2 p. 246-9 (tenurial history) online copy

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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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