Cheshire Castles of the Irish Sea Cultural Zone

Abstract

Along the valley … of the Dee and their mountain tributaries, where they begin to open towards the English plain, mottes and ringworks succeed one another like beads on a string. There was no overall plan of defence …. They served only for local protection against an enemy who came by stealth and at night to forage and to loot … (Pounds 1990, 70)This article examines the medieval castles of Cheshire, in North-West England, and argues that there was far more continuity in conceptions of power, place, and land tenure across the eleventh and twelfth centuries than has been previously recognized. New interpretations of existing evidence are presented, indicating that the medieval castles in the western areas of the county were strategically sited and maintained throughout the Anglo-Norman period. Probably because the River Dee largely formed the western boundary of the entire frontier county from the end of the thirteenth century (Harris 1984, 1), Anglo-Norman castles located to the west of the River Dee in medieval west Cheshire have tended to be researched separately from their counterparts to the east of the River Dee. This has had the overall effect of both diminishing the value of this important northern section of the Anglo-Welsh border — what is here termed the Irish Sea Cultural Zone — and ignoring the significant research and interpretation potential of the castles and their landscapes, in terms of their individual and group significance within medieval Cheshire. As such, the concept of the Irish Sea Cultural Zone, and its nature and extent, is proposed in this article for the first time. The evidence relating to the siting and form of the zone’s castles is analysed through a landscape history and archaeological study, which spans many disciplinary boundaries. Discussion will highlight that continuity of form from prehistoric, Roman, or Anglo-Saxon monuments to Anglo-Norman castles reflected the continuity of purpose in control over communications, as well as reflecting the continuing significance of military and social influences on the siting of the castles in west Cheshire.