Manchester Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Mamecestre

In the civil parish of Manchester.
In the historic county of Lancashire (Modern Authority of Manchester, 1974 county of Greater Manchester).

The manor house of Manchester was the at site now occuped by Chetham Hospital, just North of the church (now Cathedral). This was a naturally defensible situation on a sandstone outcrop at the confluence of the Rivers Irwell and Irk, this would appear to be the most likely situation for the castle mentioned in 1184-7 and 1215-16 when held by Gresle. PastScape record reads "A naturally defensible bluff at the confluence of the Rivers Irk and Irwell was the site of the manor house of the Greley family by C13, and probably also of their castle, documented in 1184. Three concentric ditches encircling the promontory have been identified, two of them relating to the line of Long Millgate and Hanging Ditch, close to the present cathedral, and one running through the yard of Chetham's School and Library. The origins and exact course of each are open to conjecture, although it has been suggested that they may relate to the Norman castle, or possibly even the Saxon burh." There are Castlefield place names in Manchester but these are somewhat south of above site and refer to Roman remains rather than the medieval castle.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Fortified Manor House
Masonry Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ839988

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 1386094

• Web site links
  • http://www.chethams.org.uk/hist.htm
• Books
  • Hylton, Stuart, 2003, A History of Manchester (Philimore) p13
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Lancashire and Cheshire (Malvern) p36
    Hartwell, Clare, 2001, The buildings of England Manchester (Penguin) p5
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p249
    Holdsworth, Philip, 1983, 'The Castle' in Morris, Michael, The Archaeology of Greater Manchester Vol1: Medieval Manchester (Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit) p36-7
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Tait, J., 1904, Medieval Manchester and the Beginnings of Lancashire (Manchester: University of Manchester History Series 1) p138
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p200
• Journal Articles
  • Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]