# Manchester Castle

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{{Short description|Medieval fortified manor house in Manchester, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2026}}
{{Infobox building
|image=Chetham's.jpg
|caption=Chetham's School of Music on the site of Manchester Castle
|name=Manchester Castle
|location=[Manchester](/source/Manchester), England
|pushpin_map =Greater Manchester
|coordinates = {{coord|53.486768|-2.241911|display=inline,title}}
|client=de Grelley family barons of Manchester
|architectural_style =[Fortified manor house](/source/Fortified_manor_house)
}}

'''Manchester Castle''' was a medieval fortified [manor house](/source/manor_house) in what is now [Manchester city centre](/source/Manchester_city_centre), England. It was probably located on a [bluff](/source/hill) at the [confluence](/source/confluence) of the rivers [Irk](/source/River_Irk) and [Irwell](/source/River_Irwell), close to [Manchester Cathedral](/source/Manchester_Cathedral), on the site now occupied by [Chetham's School of Music](/source/Chetham's_School_of_Music),<ref name="Newman141">Newman (2006), p.&nbsp;141.</ref> placing it near the edge of the medieval [township of Manchester](/source/Manchester_Township_(England)) ({{gbmapping|SJ839989}}).<ref name="Pastscape">{{cite web |title=Manchester Castle |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1386094 |publisher=Pastscape.org.uk |access-date=2008-01-20}}</ref>

==History==
thumb|left|Photo of Chethams from the other side of the River Irwell
Manchester Castle was first referred to in 1184; in 1215 it was recorded as belonging to the [Greslé](/source/Albert_de_Gresle) family,<ref name="gatehouse">{{cite web |title=Manchester Castle |url=http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/1907.html |publisher=The Gatehouse - the comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of England and Wales |access-date=2008-03-18}}</ref> who were barons of Manchester.<ref name="Kidd13">Kidd (1996), p.&nbsp;13.</ref> This is the last historic reference to the castle.<ref>Nevell (2008), p.&nbsp;41.</ref> Before the manor house was built, Manchester Castle may have taken the form of a [ringwork](/source/ringwork)<ref name="Newman141" /> constructed from timber and with a wooden [palisade](/source/palisade).<ref name="Kidd13"/> This earlier castle has been described as "of no political or military importance".<ref name="Kidd13" /> Three rings of ditches have been discovered surrounding the likely site of the castle; however, these may be part of a Saxon [burh](/source/burh) or Norman castle.<ref name="Pastscape" />

In his book ''Warfare in England'' (1912), the author and historian [Hilaire Belloc](/source/Hilaire_Belloc) identified the "Manchester Gap", between the [Pennines](/source/Pennines) and the [Mersey estuary](/source/River_Mersey), as one of the two most important defensive lines in medieval England, along with the line of the [River Thames](/source/River_Thames). Although Belloc ascribed great importance to Manchester and its supposed ability to hinder troop movements, the castle historian D.&nbsp;J.&nbsp;Cathcart King refuted this interpretation, nothing that the site was forgotten at an early date.<ref>Cathcart King (1983), pp.&nbsp;xx–xxi.</ref>

==See also==
*[History of Manchester](/source/History_of_Manchester)
*[List of castles in Greater Manchester](/source/List_of_castles_in_Greater_Manchester)

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Cathcart King |first=David J. |title=Catellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume I: Anglesey–Montgomery |publisher=Kraus International Publications |year=1983}}
*{{cite book |last=Kidd |first=Alan |year=1996 |orig-date=1993 |title=Manchester |publisher=Keele University Press |location=Keele |isbn=1-85331-028-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Nevell |first=Mike |year=2008 |title=Manchester: The Hidden History |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-4704-9}}
*{{cite journal |last=Newman |first=Caron |year=2006 |title=Medieval Period Resource Assessment |journal=Archaeology North West|volume=8 |pages=115–144 |issn=0962-4201}}
{{refend}}

{{Manchester B&S}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Manchester
Category:History of Manchester
Category:Ringwork castles

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Manchester Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Castle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Castle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.